Little Fanfare for One of Their Boys

In Jewish homes, synagogues, and communal organizations, there was a certain amount of legitimate delight expressed yesterday with the selection of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, as Al Gore's running mate.

Even though it is too soon to tell how a Jewish vice-presidential candidate will play with evangelicals, blacks, and Catholics (not to mention Muslims), Jews were bursting with pride.

"I imagine Jewish mothers all over America calling up their sons and saying, 'Nu, nu, so what's your excuse?'" one of my friends wrote to me in an e-mail.

In formal statements, Jewish organizations gushed, but, at least on Day One, I found the Orthodox reaction a bit restrained.

Shlomo Z. Mostofsky, national president of the National Council of Young Israel, an organization of over 150 Orthodox synagogues throughout North America, called the selection "a historic new level of achievement for American Jewry."

But Mr. Mostofsky also emphasized the universal nature of the choice. The selection of the Connecticut senator, he quickly added, was "proof that America has achieved a new level of acceptance for all minority groups and religious beliefs."

The Orthodox Union, which certifies kosher products as well as provides support for synagogues and youth groups, downplayed the religious significance. In a statement, Dr. Mandell Ganchrow noted that the choice of Lieberman was made "without thought to extraneous matters such as religion."

Betty Ehrenberg, the director of International and Communal Affairs for the Orthodox Union, added that "once the novelty dies down, most Americans will make their assessments on the issues, like the economy, health care and his voting record."

"I don't think his religious behavior will be the focus," she said. "Whether or not there's a kosher kitchen in the vice president's mansion will be interesting for one or two newspaper articles, but people will make their assessment based on the merits."

Non-Orthodox groups seemed more comfortable seeing a religious meaning in the selection. The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism did not issue a statement, but when I reached Rabbi Jerome Epstein, the organization's executive vice president, he demurred on politics.

"There are better pundits than me who can tell you what this means from a political point of view," he said.

But from the vantage point of religion, Epstein saw only positives. "Many committed Conservative and Reform Jews will see this as a very positive empowerment," he said. "The fact that Lieberman makes Sabbath observance a priority will resonate well beyond the political."

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