Does My Vote Really Matter If Hashem Decides?

The Torah's Opinion on Voting

Rabbi Shay Tahan

Whenever there is an election, we need to understand what our role in it is. Is there any reason to go out and vote? Or maybe it is a waste of time, because everything is already decided above, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu decides exactly who will be in charge for the next four years. Do we have any say in the matter at all?

At first glance, Chazal seem to give two answers that we must reconcile.

Even the Man at the Well Is Appointed from Heaven

The Gemara speaks about the "resh garguta," the one appointed over the well, deciding who draws water today and tomorrow. Even such a small position is appointed by Hakadosh Baruch Hu. As the pasuk says, "Lecha Hashem hamamlacha, vehamitnasei lechol lerosh" — You appoint every appointee, even over small things.

The Yalkut Reuveni, at the end of Parashat Pinchas, brings that we cannot appoint a leader over the public down here unless he was first announced above in Heaven. On the pasuk "Yifkod Hashem… ish al ha'eda," Hashem is the One who appoints a leader over the congregation. Every position of authority a person holds is from Hashem. That is why, when we see a king, even a non-Jewish king, we make the bracha "shenatan mikvodo levasar vadam" — Hashem gave from His honor to a human being.

The Gemara in Brachot (55a) says in the name of Rabbi Yochanan that there are three things Hakadosh Baruch Hu announces Himself: famine, plenty, and a good leader. A good leader we learn from the pasuk "Re'eh karati veshem Betzalel" — Hashem called up Betzalel to oversee the building of the Mishkan.

If that is the case, it seems there is no need to vote at all. Hashem has already decided.

“Unless He Consults with the Community”

But look at the very next line in the same Gemara. Rabbi Yitzchak says: "Ein maamidin parnas al hatzibur ela im ken nimlachin batzibur" — we do not appoint a leader over the community unless we consult with the community first.

Here is an explicit source that you have to ask the people. And how do you ask the people? How do you ask 300 million people what their opinion is? You vote. That is the way.

The Gemara learns this from Betzalel. Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu, "See, I have called Betzalel." Later Moshe tells the people, "See, Hashem has called Betzalel." Why does the Torah need to tell us that Moshe informed the people? Of course a leader's people are informed; otherwise how would he lead? Rather, Chazal explain that there was a back and forth here. Hashem asked Moshe: Is Betzalel fitting in your eyes? Moshe, in his humility, answered: If he is fitting in Your eyes, certainly in mine. Hashem said: Go and ask the people. And Moshe asked Am Yisrael: Is Betzalel fitting in your eyes? And they answered: If he is fitting before Hashem and before you, certainly before us.

Think about it. Hakadosh Baruch Hu Himself wanted Betzalel, and Betzalel was a tzaddik who knew how to combine the letters with which the world was created. Still, Hashem consulted with Moshe, and Moshe consulted with the people.

So the answer to the contradiction, as brought in the Ein Yaakov, is this: even though the man over the well is appointed from Heaven, we still need the consent of the public, just as with Betzalel. If the people say yes, he is appointed. If they say no, even though Hashem wanted him, he does not get the job. It needs to be approved by Hakadosh Baruch Hu and by Am Yisrael.

The Chatam Sofer: A Leader Without the People Is Invalid

This principle appears in several sefarim. The Chatam Sofer, in Choshen Mishpat, discusses a case where the government removed the old rabbi of a city and put in a new one. The new rabbi was a chashuv rabbi, a dayan, knowledgeable and fit for the job. But since he was appointed by the government and not by the people, the Chatam Sofer says he did two evil things: he took a position of leadership against the will of the community, and he pushed out the previous rabbi. For each of these he is disqualified from leading and from ruling.

The Chatam Sofer brings the frightening words of the Maharam about someone who takes authority without the people’s will, or through officials. Who can appoint a leader? The people.

The Chatam Sofer adds a second condition. The leader must be someone fitting, a righteous person with the right qualities. Sometimes the public picks someone who is comfortable for them, who will tell them everything is permitted. That is no good. And sometimes a person is great and righteous, but the people are not interested in him. That is also no good. Two things are needed together: the majority of the public wants him, and he is worthy. And it goes by majority, because you will never have everyone agree.

An example is Yehoshua ben Gamla. The Gemara in Bava Batra (21a) remembers him for the good: if not for him, Torah would have been forgotten from Yisrael, because he established teachers for the children. Yet the Chatam Sofer discusses how he obtained his position through the king rather than the people. Even great personal merit does not erase the question of how a leader is appointed.

David Hamelech, too, did not take the kingship until the nation came to ask him to lead. The Urim VeTumim warns of the damage caused when someone takes authority over a community without its will.

Even Mourners Must Go Out

So we have two sides. Hakadosh Baruch Hu decides who should lead, but even after He decides, the nation has the last word. That is how Hashem made it, and that is what He wants. Only if a person is completely disqualified, and Hashem does not want him at all, can the people not change that.

This is so serious that when Chacham Ovadia Yosef was asked, halacha lemaaseh, whether avelim during the seven days of shiva may go out to vote, he ruled that they must go out and vote. He said the same about avreichim who had accepted a taanit tzibbur. They must go and vote. And it is known that in Eretz Yisrael, before elections, the rabbanim say it is a mitzvah to vote, and the people listen.

Your Vote Is Counted Either Way

Some say: the result in my area is clear, so my vote will not change anything. But the government sees how many people voted in each area. If Jews come out in masses, officials take them into account. If they see that Jews do not vote, they can ignore them. That affects how decisions are made toward our communities.

So on Election Day, every person should make a wise decision, go out and vote for those who are good for Am Yisrael, who do for Am Yisrael and do not endanger Am Yisrael, and for what is good for his family and his kehillah.

Chazak u'baruch.

Rabbi Shay Tahan answers halachic questions at askhalacha.com.

Watch the full class, "What Is the Torah's Opinion on Voting?": https://youtu.be/yTeLQMHWuco