B.W. COOK -- The Crowd

“Our distinguished guest speaker this evening might have had her name

right along side some of the formidable women of American history. There

was Bess, Nancy, Jackie and Tess, Barbara . . . Lady Bird and . . .

Hadassah,” said Rabbi Mark Miller, spiritual leader of Temple Bat Yahm,

Newport Beach.

The crowd roared, then applauded as Miller introduced Hadassah

Lieberman to an audience of some 500 guests who had come to Temple Bat

Yahm on Sunday evening to witness an address by the wife of former

vice-presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman. The candidate’s wife has

joined the ranks of the national speakers circuit since the Democratic

defeat last fall.

Lieberman brings a most unique insider’s perspective on the woman’s

role in the campaign trail. That perspective is further defined by the

fact that Lieberman is the first Jewish woman (Orthodox Jewish woman to

be exact) to travel the 50 states in support of her husband and a

national ticket.

Wearing a tailored navy blue silk suit with a scoop-neck collar, a

triple strand of pearls and a skirt hemmed above the knee, the blond and

personable Lieberman, whose cultural, ethnic and religious background is

steeped in antiquity, was very clearly a modern person who has managed to

stick with her Orthodox principles in a contemporary world that does not,

in large part, take time off for the Sabbath.

Hadassah and Joey -- that’s how she refers to her husband Joe, a

Democrat who is presently serving as a Connecticut senator -- and their

family managed to respect the Sabbath for months on the campaign trail to

the White House, even surrounded by Secret Service in the synagogue.

This, however, was the not the message of this immigrant woman, whose

parents were Holocaust survivors.

“Yes, we did open doors all across America where people had either no

contact or no understanding of the Jewish religion,” said Lieberman. “Our

purpose on the Democratic ticket was not to teach the nation about

Judaism, but rather to represent a broad spectrum of values meant to

enhance the collective life of the American people.”

“Joe and I come from a state with less than 3% Jews in the population.

Our Jewishness makes us who we are,” she said, “and from this perspective

comes a range of Jewish experience, with perhaps the most significant

element being a real grasp of the idea and the practice of tolerance.”

It was from this platform of teaching and living tolerance that

Lieberman made her most passionate point, referring to the Jewish concept

of “tikun olam,” which translated from the Hebrew means “heal the world.”

“It is our belief that we act on principles of tikun olam. Simply

stated, we ask ourselves if the actions we take will help to heal the

world,” Lieberman said.

The lofty stance has brought both tremendous praise and criticism to

Joe Lieberman and his wife.

“People would tell me on the campaign trail to ask my husband to stop

talking about God,” said Lieberman. “Then they would say ‘God Bless

You.”’

She went on to say that the toughest questions concerning their

religious convictions came from Jewish journalists.

“It is our heritage to question and question and question some more,”

she said responding to an inquiry from Rabbi Miller, who was moderating

the speech and discussion.

Miller’s most pointed question concerned the Jewish vote. Quoting

election statistics, Miller quantified the fact that a large portion of

the national Jewish vote went to George W. Bush. Lieberman responded with

dignity.

“Al Gore and Joe Lieberman won the popular vote in America. They won

the vote based on the principles they stood for and the plans they had

for America. This is what matters, and frankly, this is what makes

America great,” she said. “So many people would come to us on the

campaign trail and share with us their religion. Some would say, ‘We’re

Catholic and we’re voting for you.’ Others would say, ‘We’re this and

we’re that and we’re voting for you.’ And many Jews voted for Gore and

Lieberman too. People that didn’t vote for Gore/Lieberman voted for

Bush/Cheney because that’s where their political ideology took them,

whether they were Jewish or not.”

Following the address at the sanctuary, underwriting patrons of

Lieberman’s appearance in Newport Beach were invited to a reception held

at the elegant Belcourt residence of Charles and Diane Karp. A late

evening coffee and dessert was served for some 100 guests who were seated

in the burnt olive-green, two-story Karp living room.

Surrounded by the magnificent contemporary art of the Karp collection,

guests socialized until Rabbi Miller escorted Hadassah Lieberman into the

living room, sitting with her in front of the fireplace at the center of

the room. The large and formal address suddenly became intimate, with

questions of all varieties directed at the candidate’s wife.

Of the more pressing topics discussed: health care reform, education,

military expenditure, bi-partisan politics in the Bush White House, tax

reform and international relations with China, as well as the the crisis

in the Middle East. Also on the minds of Newport-Mesa citizens was the

topic of Lieberman’s campaign seeking media reform.

The event was produced by Marion Jacobson, attending with her husband,

John Jacobson. In the crowd were Edward and Leslea Miller, Elliot and

Joanne Mercer, Jonathan and Sharyn Grant, Lee and Kathy Berman, Jeff and

Heidi Berkley, William and Michelle Klein, Richard and Lauren Packard,

Jerry and Merry Neitlich, Stan and Marion Robboy, Bob and Carol Warsaw,

Karen Green, Broin and Bonnie Jeannette, Cathy Kroopf, Patty Boyle, Lane

Sherman and Yana Briddle.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.