September 18, 2020
A Jewish teaching says those who die just before the Jewish new year are the ones God has held back until the last moment because they are needed most and are the most righteous.
And so it was . . . our Ruth Bader Ginsberg died as the sun was setting last night which marked the beginning of RoshHashanah.
Jewish tradition says that people who die that day are called Tzadiks, people with human frailties but who have superhuman abilities to make the world a better place.
She was Tzadik.
The root of the word ṣadiq, is ṣ-d-q, which means "justice" or "righteousness". When applied to a righteous woman, the term is inflected as tzadeikes/tzaddeket.
She stayed with us as long as she could. Let’s hope and pray her righteousness continues its influence on our actions and that her memory will forever guide our nation.
It has not been until her passing that we realize, too late, that this mighty warrior woman was holding up the entire roof of our inclusive, multi-cultural, progressive value system.It is now imperiled and we each have a hand in picking up her sword and shield to defend what we have, for too long, taken for granted.
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