From Bocortem, Florida, this is Behind the Bima.

On this episode, the rabbis are joined by Rebecca Lieberman, daughter of Senator Joe Lieberman,

whose life and legacy left a lasting mark on American politics, public service, and Jewish life.

Rebecca reflects on the experience of a national presidential campaign,

discusses the role Shabbat played in grounding her home, and shares what made her father different, integrity, resilience, deep conviction, and the increasingly rare ability to build

genuine relationships across political divides. All this and more, Behind the Bima.

This season of Behind the Bima is sponsored by Julie Charlestine and Darrell Benjamin in honor of

their grandparents, Morton and Malvina Charlestine, and their children, Ruby and Maccabi Benjamin. Welcome back behind the Bimo. We got a great episode today with Rebecca Lieberman, the daughter of the late great Senator Joe Lieberman, an incredible mention, incredible Jew, incredible inspiration, who lived in a very different time, even though it wasn't that long ago, and we'll get into that with her. But first, Rabbi Mosk, what's going on? First of all, it feels like a world ago. I mean, 2000, whatever it was, 2000, to think that you had a Orthodox Jew as a vice presidential candidate. And now that that's almost like a liability in the public sphere.

Yeah, Josh Shapiro was not chosen to be on the national ticket because he was a Jew,

and she'll discuss, but campaigning with her father across the country,

not that long ago, she encountered zero anti-Semitism.

Most importantly, as a teaser, we talk about the time that he called me, that center-leaver called me. Yes. When was it that? You have to watch the whole episode to get that information. Why? When Rabbi Moskowitz answered his phone and it was Joe Lieberman, bailing him out of prison. No? That seemed to appeaked people's interest last time. I did. That did. All my kids texted me. Why was Rabbi Moskowitz arrested? They're going to have to wait. They're going to have to wait. I think it's going to be probably a young kipper drush at some point. I don't think I don't think behind the beam is going to be the big reveal. Maybe yom kipper and then and then afterwards I'll release it. Rabbi Kenney should be well, one of our early mentors, a great rabbi. He had an incredible story, something that happened to him,

and I don't think he ever used it in a drusha, at least not when I was a younger rabbi, and I heard the story, and I asked him how he could have never used it in a drusha. And it was a fascinating answer he had. You know, the drusha is, of course it's meaningful. It comes from our authentic excel from the depth of our being from who we are. I don't want to use even the word performative in it,

but you know, it's meaningful. It comes from our authentic self, from the depth of our being, from who we are. And I don't want to use even the word performative in it, but you know, it's calculated. I need a good drusha. What would hook people? What would be an opening? What would be evocative? What would be emotional? He said this story was so personal, it would almost cheapen it or dilute it. To put it in a drusha, it would just change it for him the experience. Have you ever held something back because of that? Yeah, I don't know that I've held it back because of that. There are things that are probably just too personal. I think my family or even I don't need to share. You're pretty autobiographical in your trusses, whether it's your mother-in-law, your wife, your children.

But those are pretty like innocuous stories. They're benign stories. This was, you know what story I'm referring to with him? I do not. Now I'm so intrigued. I don't know. It's his story, not mine to tell. It's very public story, but he was held up at gunpoint in his shul as a young rabbi. Oh, I did hear that story.

And the person basically was holding him accountable for everything wrong in his life. It wasn't in New York. It was before he was in New York, I think. I hope I'm getting this right. If anyone close to Rabbiin hears this and it's wrong, let us know. And he had this incredible, Hashem put an idea in his head where she said to the guy, look if you're going going to take my life and hold me accountable for everything wrong, I can't convince you not? But can we go to the ark and let me open it and let me put my hand on a Torah scroll and at least pray? And he did. And while he was davening, like with his hand on the Torah, that somehow touched this guy in such a way that he put the gun down. And I hope I'm not destroying the story.

But it was an amazingly powerful story.

So nowadays that would be like a Baima Aen video or something with like slow music in the background and images to go along with it.

Yeah.

But whether I got that story completely right or wrong, it left an impact.

I must have heard the story 20 something years ago.

And that's how long I remember it. But what equally left the impression on me was this idea

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