Rabbi Joseph Potasnik told Newsmax on Thursday that it's "wrong to say" Sen. Joe Lieberman passed away.
"Thank God he passed our way," he said.
Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, appeared on "National Report" to remember Lieberman, who died Wednesday at the age of 82 after complications sustained from a fall in his home.
"We often say that no one is irreplaceable. I don't think that's true. You can't easily replace a Sen. Joe Lieberman," the rabbi said. "I went to Yeshiva University, and we often spoke of synthesis. How you can synthesize two worlds — the traditional and the secular. And he certainly did it so well. He was proud to stand up as a Jew. He was proud to stand up as an American, and there was no conflict."
Potasnik said he read part of Lieberman's 2011 book, "The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath."
"He talks about how he had to leave the Capitol late one evening, was a Friday evening. He wouldn't drive because of his religious views and a Secret Service vehicle was driving next to him, and it was pouring," the rabbi recalled. "He said, 'But you know, at that moment I realized what it meant to be an Orthodox Jew in America. He's driving. I'm walking, and yet we were together.'
"It's wrong to say he passed away. I would first say thank God Joe Lieberman passed our way. We've all been enriched by his presence and participation in that public arena. He's an example that you can be both Jewish and American, proud of both, and bring honor to your people and to the country."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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