I was wrong, and I apologize.
When John Fetterman was campaigning for and then became a senator, I castigated him for the way he dressed, even saying that he should “put on his big boy pants.” I was insulting based on his personal dress code of hoodies and shorts, and expressed that he should show more respect for the office and his colleagues by dressing in a suit.
I was wrong to do that, and in doing so, I ignored one of the great teachings in Judaism.
In the Mishnah (Pirkei Avot 4:20), a primary text in Judaism, it teaches, “Rabbi Yehuda says do not judge by the flask, but rather by what it contains.” This is the ancient form of the modern saying that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. It’s a quote I often use to remind people that just because someone looks holy, it does not mean that they act in a holy way. I also use it as a reminder of the opposite: that just because someone looks unpleasant or ignorant, we should not ever assume that this is the truth. But in my comments about Senator Fetterman, I totally rejected that important teaching.
Fetterman is actually one of the most courageous and honest men in Congress.
Despite being a Democrat, he has repeatedly broken with his party and supported Israel while condemning Hamas. He has not only accurately blamed Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran for the suffering in Gaza, but he has also taken his own Democratic colleagues to task for normalizing anti-Israel stances within his own party. Fetterman publicly disagreed with President Biden about Biden’s decision to pause weapons shipments to Israel, has recently called the anti-Israel protesters in New York City “s***heads,” and just this week, condemned his own party over its “anti-Semitism problem.”
We all desire our political leaders to be filled with integrity and to stand up for what is right, even in the face of derision from their own party. We want them to have the courage and awareness to serve the people, and to lead in a way that brings honor and integrity to their office and to this nation.
Fetterman has consistently demonstrated himself to be the model of this type of positive behavior. We all need to take a step back and recognize that this truly is one of the better leaders we have had in Congress in the last few decades.
Senator, I apologize and hope you will forgive me. For attacking you personally, for not showing you the respect you so deeply deserve, and for forgetting my own faith tradition’s teachings. May you and your family always be blessed with good health, and may you continue to have the courage to do what is right and righteous in the face of those around you who do not show the same courage or integrity that you continue to demonstrate every day.
