Enough is Enough: ‘Voting Can Help Us Stand Up for Ourselves’

By Mr. Sol Rotter

I’ve lived my entire life within the confines of a 50-mile radius. In the last 89 years, I’ve seen the neighborhood shift from one extreme to another and back again. I’ve seen how much governmental policy has shaped our community. And I’m proud to have been a factor in those changes.

I was born in 1935 in Brownsville, Brooklyn – the old neighborhood where many thousands of Jews used to live. There were a lot of Shuls, just like here in Crown Heights—three Shuls on a block. There were Chassidim, Litvish, all kinds of people. My father was a Gerrer Chassid, and he opened the first Gerrer Shtiebel in New York. Not only that, he opened the first Gerrer Yeshiva. I taught there, starting from when I was 16. When the Rebbe came to America, my father and I would walk from Brownsville to attend Hakafos, and sometimes for other farbrengens.

Soon after, all the Jews from Brownsville moved to Crown Heights and elsewhere. I moved to Crown Heights after I got married in 1958.

Even as a kid, I knew my father and my mother always emphasized the importance of voting. I remember whenever elections came up, they talked to my sisters and made sure they went to vote. My parents believed that voting was crucial for participating in the American government. They wanted my sisters to be Americans, and they had to go vote. “You’re not an American if you don’t vote,” my father used to say. So my sisters always went to vote.

I never really cared much for politics. I was too busy playing ball, making money, and trying to get a job. I didn’t care about the president. I just knew I had to vote, and I always voted, and that’s it. I voted every time there was a presidential election. I never missed one in my life! I also voted in local races for mayor and council. We were always told to go vote, not to be left out. The more votes we get, the more influence we have with the government.

Young people may feel that voting doesn’t matter. They think, “Why vote? Both candidates are no good. It doesn’t make a difference.” But you never know—a vote can turn over a world and make all the difference. Put your name down! It’s important. It’s your privilege, your honor. As a mensch, an American, and a Jew, you have to vote. It’s essential.

Showing up and making your voice heard is too important. On Friday afternoon, we had a demonstration for Israel on Eastern Parkway in front of the Brooklyn Museum. There weren’t as many people as we expected—only 1,500 showed up when there should have been 5,000!

We Yidden are too soft. We don’t fight back. The trouble is that Jews are blamed for everything. How many Yidden got beaten up in Queens, Flatbush, and other places, and there was no fighting back?

One way to fight back is to go out and vote!

When you vote and you bring a lot of votes from Crown Heights, things change. The neighborhood changes. Vote to help the people who are doing their job for the neighborhood and for people who are running the Mosdos or helping people get money for Shabbos. Everything helps, but you have to vote!

The Rebbe emphasized the importance of voting as well. He used to say, “Men darf gain voten!” I recall the Rebbe clearly saying at a Farbrengen, that everyone should go and vote. The community gains from every vote.

There are other ways to benefit the community as well. I think that the people who live in Crown Heights—while many are moving out—have seen the community grow in size. Those who’ve moved out should always remember to come back to their roots. They need to come back to Crown Heights, spend some money here, shop here a bit, visit 770, and of course, buy a hat here.

We all know the Rebbe said, “Kan Tzivah Hashem es Habracha,” meaning the blessing is here in the neighborhood. It’s no surprise that people come back nowadays, with all the new restaurants and the revival of old neighborhoods where people once couldn’t walk safely. If the Eibershter wants us to stay here, He will help us all live together in one corner with one goal in mind: unity in the neighborhood through achdus, voting, and staying together.

VIDEO:

COLlive and the Jewish Future Alliance (JFA) teamed up to raise awareness about voter registration for local and federal elections. To highlight what is at stake for the Jewish community, JFA’s Rabbi Yaacov Behrman and COLlive photographer Itzik Roytman met with five long-time voters from Crown Heights. Interviews were condensed for clarity by writer Chaya Chazan.

For more on voting in the upcoming election: anashvote.com

Updated photo with names