Symposium: Practices for Defending Democracy

  • October 2, 2024

Yale Professor Timothy Snyder, a scholar of totalitarian movements, wrote On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century in 2017. Snyder describes twenty practices that citizens can use in preparation for facing tyranny. We have asked each writer to take one of these practices and describe how they are able to pursue the practice and/or find the practice challenging. Rabbis Nancy Fuchs Kreimer and Sid Schwarz introduce and conclude this symposium, which includes the following contributors: Rabbi Armin Langer, Rabbi David Teutsch, Zach Teutsch, Rabbi Nate DeGroot, Rabbi Elyse Wechterman, Noa Levy, Rabbi Bonnie Koppell, Sabrina Sojourner, Rabbi Lex Rofeberg, Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, Rabbi Nathan Kamesar, Rabbi David Jaffe, Betsy Teutsch, Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, Rabbi Michael Pollack, Rabbi Alex Weissman, Ruth Messinger, Rabbi Jacob Siegel, David Ebenbach, Nathan Long, Rabbi Jacob Staub, Rabbi Jon Cutler, Rabbi James Greene and Andy Levin.

Introducing ‘Practices for Defending Democracy’ by Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer

  1. Do not obey in advance.
  2. Defend institutions.
  3. Beware the one-party state.
  4. Take responsibility for the face of the world.
  5. Remember professional ethics.
  1. Be wary of paramilitaries.
  1. Be reflective if you must be armed.
  1. Stand out.
  1. Be kind to our language.
  1. Believe in truth.
  1. Investigate.
  1. Make eye contact and small talk.
  1. Practice corporeal politics.
  1. Establish a private life.
  2. Contribute to good causes.
  1. Learn from peers in other countries.
  2. Listen for dangerous words.
  3. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
  4. Be a patriot.
  1. Be as courageous as you can.

Closing: Tyranny, Democracy and the Jewish Mandate by Rabbi Sid Schwarz

Additional related essays on democracy:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get the latest from Evolve delivered to your inbox.

Related Resources

September 29, 2024
My visit was spurred by the desire to join with my brothers and sisters — the Jewish people — out of concern for our homeland.
September 2, 2024
Kaplan was committed to democracy as an intrinsically good way of life.
September 2, 2024
Reconstructionist thinkers embraced democracy as both a key strategy and an ultimate truth.
August 5, 2024
Being in a community where we disagree with people works against polarization and forces us to consider ideas that make us uncomfortable.
July 5, 2024
Posted in Community
The sense of peoplehood is the awareness that an individual has of being a member of a group that is known, both by its own members and by outsiders, as a people. (Mordecai Kaplan, The Future of the American Jew)
April 4, 2024
Posted in Community
Disagreements can be a positive opportunity for enlightenment, growth and deep connection with others.

The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues

Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

Close-up of olive branches with green olives, sunlight filtering through the leaves creating a warm, golden glow.

Get the latest from Evolve delivered to your inbox.

The Reconstructionist Network