U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman and his wife Hadassah spent the Sabbath in Kibbutz Maaleh Gilboa, southwest of Beit She'an. Outgoing MK Rabbi Yehuda Gilad - the rabbi of nearby Kibbutz Lavi and one of the heads of the Gilboa yeshiva; he recently left the Meimad movement - was also present.
Sen. Lieberman, who hinted that he will announce his candidacy for the American Presidency in mid-January, told the yeshiva and kibbutz members last night what it's like to be a religious office-holder. He said that his religiosity helps him in his political career, as "the United States is a religious country." Regarding the yeshiva in Gilboa, he said that "as a representative of Modern Orthodoxy, of which I am a partner, it is the spearhead and example par-excellence of the integration of faith, repairing the world, and accomplishing." The yeshiva combines three-year army service with two years of yeshiva studies, including such disciplines as the philosophies of Rabbi Kook, Breslov, Modern Orthodox, and more.
In response to a question from the audience as to whether he thought the United States was ready for a Jewish President, he replied in the affirmative, explaining that people feel that a religious person has "more than politics on his mind." He was not asked about some of his more controversial statements in the past, such as those on abortion, intermarriage, and the future of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
Sen. Lieberman, who hinted that he will announce his candidacy for the American Presidency in mid-January, told the yeshiva and kibbutz members last night what it's like to be a religious office-holder. He said that his religiosity helps him in his political career, as "the United States is a religious country." Regarding the yeshiva in Gilboa, he said that "as a representative of Modern Orthodoxy, of which I am a partner, it is the spearhead and example par-excellence of the integration of faith, repairing the world, and accomplishing." The yeshiva combines three-year army service with two years of yeshiva studies, including such disciplines as the philosophies of Rabbi Kook, Breslov, Modern Orthodox, and more.
In response to a question from the audience as to whether he thought the United States was ready for a Jewish President, he replied in the affirmative, explaining that people feel that a religious person has "more than politics on his mind." He was not asked about some of his more controversial statements in the past, such as those on abortion, intermarriage, and the future of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.