Joseph I. Lieberman (1942–2024)

Since 2017 or 2018 (5777 or 5778) I have made a tradition of counting the Omer by reading a chapter a night of With Liberty and Justice: The Fifty-Day Journey from Egypt to Sinai by Joe Lieberman, Ari D. Kahn. The Omer is a 50 day period that starts with the second night of Passover, and concludes with a holiday of Shavuot. I was not even aware of this tradition until preparing for my wedding. My then-fiancé, now wife, would not marry during the first 33 days of this period of time, which concludes with Lag B’Omer. Lag B’Omer commemorates the death, at the hands of Roman troops, of a class of students studying with Rabbi Akiva.

Senator Joe Lieberman's premise is that with the liberation from bondage celebrated over Pesach comes a solemn responsibility to ordered liberty. Without order liberty becomes impossible and ends in tyranny. I bought this book at a mock trial held at NYC's Temple Emanu-el. The book is organized into fifty brief essays, corresponding to the days of the counting of the Omer, from the second day of Pesach to Shavouth. Most of these essays are gems in and of themselves. I just finished it for the fifth or sixth time, and every time reading it brings to light new gems.

When I first reviewed it for Goodreads I covenanted to pull the book out every spring, at least for a while, to re-read.… (plus d'informations)