A Message from the Clergy on the Upcoming 2024 Election

Dear Temple Emanu-El Family, 

As we approach election day tomorrow, we find ourselves in a crucial and challenging period for our nation. This moment is marked by a divisive landscape that tests our resilience and our relationships. However, our Jewish values and our American ideals alike call upon us to engage, to listen with open hearts, and to cast our vote. We believe that every voice matters, and that each vote cast is a meaningful contribution to our democracy. This sacred act of civic engagement is one we are called to uphold — especially amidst difficult and polarized moments — for it is through our collective voices that we shape our future. 

Judaism has long upheld the values of justice, dialogue, and the shared responsibility of creating a just society — principles that form the very foundation of democracy and are core to our Temple Emanu-El family. As we prepare for Election Day, we want to share with you a prayer for voting that you can recite before entering the voting booth or dropping off your ballot, as well as a statement from the Westfield Clergy Association reflecting on the importance of this election. 

Please know that your clergy are always here to listen and to support you and your family in times of uncertainty. We look forward to embracing our sacred duty of voting together and contributing to the ongoing vibrancy of our democracy.

May our community, our country, and our shared future move always from strength to strength, 

Rabbi Ethan Prosnit
Rabbi Victor Appell
Cantor Ilana Goldman
Rabbi Becky Jaye
Cantorial Intern Ilana Mulcahy
Rabbi Charles Kroloff
Cantor Martha Novick

Prayer for Voting

By Rabbi Jonathan Kligler

“A prayer for the coming days: May we each exercise our right and responsibility to vote in this year’s election, as voting is the sacred duty of all citizens in a democratic nation. May we find within ourselves a calm center, a refuge from the unrelenting anxiety and anger that storms around us. May we treat everyone we encounter with graciousness and care, even when we disagree. May we do our best to banish contempt, for even as contempt demeans others, it also poisons our own hearts. May we stand up boldly for our principles. And may we remember and embody the words of President Abraham Lincoln as he closed his first inaugural address to a nation on the brink of civil war: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory…will yet swell…when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

Statement by the Westfield/Mountainside Clergy Association on the Upcoming Election 2024

For over 300 years, the story of Westfield has centered on community. The Westfield/Mountainside Clergy Association is composed of religious leaders meeting for the common good, building partnerships across denominational lines, and deepening friendships amongst all peoples. As we prepare for this upcoming election, when tensions are high and much is at stake, please center on the shared value of cherished community. Let’s remember that behind every vote is a human being and within every person is a story of their past, their complicated pain, and creative future possibilities.

Let us stay committed to building a community that extends beyond mere civility-- a community where we care for one another, where we listen, and where we treat each neighbor as we wish to be treated. Together, we are the authors of the next chapter of a shared livelihood.

May we turn towards one another, sharing our stories to build a society we want to live in and to write the story we want to pass on to future generations. Thus, we trust God as we act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly together.  

Rabbi Ethan Prosnit, Temple Emanu-El 
Rev. Alison V. Philip, First United Methodist Church of Westfield
Rabbi Victor Appell, Temple Emanu-El
Rev. Anthony J. Randazzo, Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church
Deacon Keith Gibbons, Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church
Rev. Msgr. Thomas P. Nydegger, Saint Helen Church
Rev. Leslie Dobbs-Allsopp, Presbyterian Church in Westfield
Cantor Ilana Goldman, Temple Emanu-El 
Rev. Dr. Jennifer Testa Hrynyk, First Congregational Church of Westfield
Rev. Sabrina Uzodinma, First Baptist Church of Westfield
Rev. Marco G. Serrano, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Westfield
Rev. Marcy Ryan, Presbyterian Church in Westfield 
Rev. Marcus C. Lambright, Community Presbyterian Church (Mountainside)
Rabbi Becky Jaye, Temple Emanu-El