Anthony Weiner for Mayor?

The saintly Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev once chanced upon a strong, young man who was brazenly eating on Yom Kippur. The Rabbi suggested that perhaps he was feeling ill. The fellow insisted he was in the best of health. Perhaps he had forgotten that today was the holy day of fasting? "Who doesn't know that today is Yom Kippur?" responded the young man. Perhaps he was never taught that Jews do not eat on this day? "Every child knows that Yom Kippur is a fast day, Rabbi!" Whereupon Rabbi Levi Yitzchak raised his eyes heavenward and said, "Master of the Universe, see how wonderful Your people are! Here is a Jew who, despite everything, refuses to tell a lie! 

Who will become the next mayor of New York City? The race is on. It’s no simple position; the city is the financial capital of the world, has a 50 billion dollar budget and one of the densest populations in the country. The question on everyone’s mind is, can someone who is morally imperfect in his own private life, still be a trustworthy, conscientious leader? Is he fit to be in a leadership position? What part, if any, does his personal life play in his mayoral campaign? After all, he is intelligent, charismatic and capable, and does not bow to pressure. Does what he did alone on the internet really make a difference?   

When Moses appointed leaders in the desert, G-d instructed him, "You shall choose out of the entire nation men of substance, G-d fearers, men of truth, who hate monetary gain, and you shall appoint over them [Israel] leaders over thousands, leaders over hundreds, leaders over fifties, and leaders over tens." 

Rashi explains that "men of truth" refers to those who keep their promises—i.e., people you can trust. If you can trust them in their personal lives, then you can trust them as public leaders. 

Leadership is not solely about being in charge and making decisions. It involves honesty and integrity; it involves being a role model. You want to know who a person really is? Watch how he treats his wife! Want to know if a person is to be trusted? Observe the way he treats his children. What kind of father is he? 

In the Talmud, we meet Kimchis, who merited having all her seven sons serve as high priests. What did she do to deserve this honor? We are told that “the beams of her house never saw the hairs of her head.” i.e., she kept her hair covered even in the privacy of her own home. Her stringency in modesty—even when no one else was around—merited her this great honor. 

In this week’s Torah portion, we read, "Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse." This is G-d giving us free choice. We all have an inner struggle between good and evil. We all experience temptation and desire, and it’s hard to resist. G-d is well aware of our powerful evil inclination, and He gave us the ability to repent in the event that we might succumb to its force.

I do not know who the next mayor of New York City will be. That will be determined by the city’s voters. But for someone to prove that he has repented requires two steps. First, we must realize we have a problem. We need to acknowledge our faults and imperfections and stop lying to ourselves. The next step is to move away from the limelight and do sincere, private penance, including deep remorse and reconnecting with G-d. Only then can we begin to regain the integrity we lost when we made those unfortunate choices.

We are all leaders—in our families, communities, and businesses, and what we do behind closed doors is never just about us. Everything we do impacts our leadership positions, our families and our relationships.

We are about to enter the month of Elul, which immediately precedes the High Holidays. Elul is a month of repentance, when the heavenly gates are wide open just waiting to accept our prayers and supplication. G-d is always ready to forgive us for our sins; we just need to do the work. We need to acknowledge our flaws and to sincerely regret our actions.

Let’s focus on atoning for our sins over the coming month, so that when we stand in front of G-d on Rosh Hashanah, we will be standing with a clean slate and a clean conscience.