The Bennett family's grace trumps its rivals' gracelessness

• Published date: 15 June 2021
• Author: GIL TROY
• Date: 15 June 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Admittedly, many Jews consider "grace" a goyish word. Christians say "grace" before or after meals; and seek a "state of grace," meaning a taste of the godly life as God's gift; Jews seek to live a good life but understand that humans can never achieve a godly life. And American Jewish comedians have long contrasted their graceful non-Jewish neighbors with a Jewish Braniac klutziness.

Actually, "grace" is a deeply Jewish word too, translated into Hebrew as chesed, meaning mercy, compassion, loving kindness. Those godly qualities have long circulated in the Jewish bloodstream helping us cope with disasters – and bond with one another.

In politics, "grace" combines compassion with class. Every healthy democracy needs heaps of grace, especially during elections and government transitions. Grace allows us to leap from clashing politically to building consensus, from denouncing rivals to cooperating with neighbors.

It's reasonable to expect political opponents to fight intensely, but it's also reasonable to expect democratic rivals to lose gracefully, to start healing the nation once the results become clear – or coalitions coalesce. The patriot continues opposing the government on particular policies, but stops questioning its legitimacy. Grace prevents "sore winners" from taking revenge on the losers – while preventing sore losers from still electioneering or plotting when the time for constructive governance has already begun.

Naftali Bennett's maiden speech graced us. Thanking not just Benjamin Netanyahu but Sara Netanyahu – Bennett's old nemesis – was one of many elegant gestures. Bennett reassured every citizen, "We have come to work! For everyone." Beyond reaching out to Arabs – welcomed into coalition politics at Netanyahu's initiative, Bennett cleverly noted – he reassured "the ultra-Orthodox" too. Promising to "represent" them, Bennett made a lovely move that was just passive-aggressive enough to show he was no patsy. Mentioning "Eliyahu Shmuel, of blessed memory – a 16-year-old ultra-Orthodox" Meron victim, while promising to establish a "state commission of inquiry," Bennett demonstrated this new government's turn toward menschlechkeit and good governance. Shrewdly, effortlessly, Bennett appealed to the ultra-Orthodox while bypassing their corrupt, self-important, negligent and now-terrified politicians.

Bennett's address culminated with a novel maneuver using familiar words: by reciting the prayer for the State of Israel, the first-kippah-wearing...