Fifty years ago on a sunny Sunday morning in April, I was watching a television program (channel 7 in New York) about Passover. Although I don’t remember the specifics of the whole program, I do remember vividly a statement made by Rabbi who responded to a question from the host, “The essence of Judaism is the sanctity of the individual” (emphasis added).
When I heard these words and realized that the uniqueness of every individual human being is the core of our journey in life, it was not long after watching that program that I learned about libertarianism and how this political philosophy dovetails with Judaism. In fact, after I was the New Jersey’s Libertarian Party’s nominee for governor in 1997 I was invited by Rabbi to speak to his congregation on a Friday night. My topic that evening was in keeping with what I heard 20 years earlier, “Why Jews should be libertarians.”
My message that evening nearly 20 years ago was clear. Given the history of the Jews, government is the last institution they should trust. And the fact that Moses gave the world the Ten Commandments, two of which are the foundation of libertarianism, “Thou shalt not steal,” and “Thou shalt not kill,” Jews should be in favor of either a stateless society or very limited government in which the “government fears the people” and not the other way around.
