Her seat will be empty, she will be missed
In the book of Samuel, Jonathan turns to King David, who is fleeing for his life, and says, “Your seat will be empty, you will be missed.”
We say the same to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died this past Friday after a groundbreaking career in the law: “Your seat will be empty, you will be missed.”
Justice Ginsburg died on Rosh Hashanah in the final moments of the Jewish Year of 5780. During these ten days that follow Rosh Hashanah, called the Days of Awe, a metaphoric book of life is written noting who shall live and who shall die in the coming year. It is time of great introspection and repentance.
We didn’t need this timing to feel the mighty weight of Justice Ginsburg’s passing. Even those on the other side of the ideological divide upon which her judicial lifework stood express appreciation for her influence.
As a lawyer in the 1970s, Ginsburg litigated landmark gender discrimination cases. Despite widespread praise for her work today, at the time, she was widely viewed by a male-dominated legal field as pursuing a radical agenda: gender equality under the law. As a judge on the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and then later a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court - only the second woman and sixth Jewish justice in the Court’s history - Ginsburg continued her work as a champion for equality. That she has been referred to as the most important woman lawyer in the history of our Republic is unsurprising.
Our mourning of Justice Ginsburg has been nearly swallowed whole by the current political tumult. Yet Justice Ginsburg’s powerful legacy will endure. No matter who replaces her on the court, we will remember her.
When women can fully participate in the workforce and not lose their jobs because they become pregnant, we will remember her.
When we fight to finally end the gender pay gap - where, today, women earn 81 cents for every dollar earned by men - we will remember her.
When we see the best in people regardless of their ideological boundaries and forge lasting friendships with those across the partisan aisle, as Justice Ginsburg did with Justice Antonin Scalia, we will remember her.
When we hold fast to life with every fiber of our being, fulfilling our mission and purpose until our last breath, we will remember her.
When the majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices are women, we will remember her.
So long as the fight for justice remains, we will remember and be inspired by her determination, dignity, grace, and wisdom.
In the Jewish tradition, when a woman dies and leaves behind children through birth or through love, she does not really die; she leaves behind those who are like herself. This is true with Justice Ginsburg’s family. The same can be said for the groundbreaking litigation she directed and her many legal opinions. They continue on, powerfully shaping and influencing the way we live our lives.
While Justice Ginsburg’s fate may have been sealed at the close of last year’s Jewish High Holidays, God held off until the very last possible moment to take her soul. She will be missed.
This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 11:40 AM.