Joe Lieberman, 82, OBM

By COLlive reporter

Joseph Isadore Lieberman, one of the highest-ranking Jewish political figures in American history who was proud and observant of his faith, passed away on Wednesday, 17 Adar II 5784.

He was 82.

Lieberman was born in Stamford, Connecticut, to a Jewish family, the son of Henry, who ran a liquor store, and Marcia (née Manger) Lieberman. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Congress Poland and his maternal grandparents were from Austria-Hungary.

He received a B.A. in both political science and economics from Yale University in 1964 and was the first member of his family to graduate from college.

At Yale, he was editor of the Yale Daily News and a member of the Elihu Club. While at Yale, Lieberman was introduced to conservative thinker William F. Buckley Jr., who was also editor of the Yale Daily News; Buckley and Lieberman maintained a social relationship.

Lieberman later attended Yale Law School, receiving his LLB degree in 1967. After graduation from law school, Lieberman worked as a lawyer for the New Haven-based law firm Wiggin & Dana LLP.

Lieberman was first elected to the United States Senate as a Democrat from Connecticut in the 1988 election. He served until 2013 and concluded his political career as an independent. He decried the two-party system and led the No Labels movement to restore civility in politics.

Lieberman met his first wife Betty Haas, at the congressional office of Senator Abraham Ribicoff (D-CT). That marriage ended in divorce. Lieberman said, “one of the differences we had was in levels of religious observance.”

In 1982, he met his second wife, Hadassah Freilich Tucker, who worked for a lobbying firm and whose parents were Holocaust survivors. Lieberman was blessed with 3 children from his marriages.

There had been other Jewish figures in the Senate before, but Lieberman was unique, the Politico website wrote. As an Orthodox Jew, he kept a kosher home and kept Shabbos, leading to votes or meetings being changed to accommodate his obedience.

“Religion is a very personal force and a factor in our lives,” his wife Hadassah Lieberman told the Chicago Tribune. “On Friday nights and Saturdays, he doesn’t do anything political. That’s a centering factor.”

Years later, Lieberman wrote a book, “The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath,” how ceasing all activity for a weekly Shabbos observance has profound benefits—including health, relationships, and even career advancement—for people of all religions.

Lieberman was an admirer of the Rebbe about whom he said, “I was impressed by this man, by his obvious spirituality, by his soaring intellect, by the extent to which he was involved in the world.” He visited Lubavitch Headquarters – 770 Eastern Parkway and had many exchanges with the Rebbe. Lieberman said he had studied the commentaries of Rabbis Joseph Ber Soloveitchik and Abraham Isaac Kook.

Lieberman has a close friendship with the Chabad Shluchim in Connecticut Rabbi Yisroel and Vivi Deren, and Rabbi Yosef Gopin, as well as Rabbi Avraham Shemtov and his son Rabbi Levi Shemtov, who lead American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) in Washington, D.C.

Lieberman made history when he was selected as the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in the 2000 presidential election, running with presidential nominee and then Vice President Al Gore. Lieberman was the first Jewish candidate on a U.S. major party presidential ticket.

“No Jew had ever sought such a lofty office,” wrote the authors of “Jews in American Politics.” “The net effect of the nomination has been to change the perception of what is possible for Jewish candidates for office for all time.”

Over the last 10 years, the Liebermans lived in Riverdale and had a close friendship with the local Shluchim, Rabbi Levi and Sorah Shemtov. The Liebermans were the Guests of Honor at the Chabad of Riverdale dinner in 2017.

Baruch Dayan Haemes.