By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

What is a columnist to do when there are far too many distressing things to write about to do any of them justice? That includes the call for the executions of members of Congress who rightly reminded American soldiers that they are not to obey illegal orders. (Anyone familiar with the claim of Nazi soldiers that they were just following orders when killing Jews should be grateful for the reminder.) Or how both Democrats and Republicans are looking at the orders to attack boats, which are not in American waters – meaning that the attacks could qualify as piracy on the part of the U.S. – and whether survivors of those attacks were deliberately killed in the water, rather than being rescued. Or that the supposed reason behind these attacks – that those boats were bringing drugs to the U.S. – falls flat when our president has pardoned those who were jailed for selling drugs or being part of drug cartels. (In case you missed it, the president recently pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández ,who had been sentenced to 45 years in prison for helping to move hundreds of tons of cocaine to the United States.) Or that same president once again using ugly, pejorative words to condemn those who disagree with him (which, at least, is better than his calls for executing them).
I wonder if many of these actions are partly based on a reaction against political correctness or wokeness. The interesting thing is that I see both of those as Jewish values. For example, Judaism tells us to carefully guard our speech so as not to insult or embarrass anyone. That’s all political correctness is. Think of the horrible names Jews have been called over the centuries (and are still being called in some places). Should we not also watch our speech when talking about others? Don’t we want people to be careful of our feelings? Are not chesed (compassion) and gemilut chasidim (loving kindness) fundamental Jewish values? As for calling for the deaths of those who disagree with your politics or not saving the lives of survivors of those boats (who have not been tried and found guilty of any crime), Judaism notes that by saving one life, it is as if you have saved the world: that means every life.
Wokeness could be considered a form of tikkun olam (repair of the world), which is another Jewish value. Are we not required to perform tzedakah, which incorrectly gets translated into English as charity. Charity is money; tzedakah makes demands on how we treat people. The word comes from tzedak, justice, which we are supposed to pursue according to Deuteronomy 16:20 – meaning actively perform as a requirement of our Jewish practice. The verse before that speaks of appointing those who will follow the laws and enforce the laws of the biblical text, just as our current officials are supposed to obey the laws of our country. In Judaism, no one is above the law. Read the Book of Kings if you want to see how Jewish rulers were condemned by God and the prophets for their illegal and immoral actions. 
I know that some days the task of being informed and trying to keep our country on the correct path feels endless and useless. It can be so hard to keep fighting for justice and loving kindness in what seems like an unkind and unjust world. But, as the ancient rabbis remind us, it is not our job to complete the task, but neither are we free to abandon it. We can pray that our efforts have results, but no matter what occurs, we need to continue the struggle since it is our hands that do this Godly and necessary work.