Whether Joe Biden was your first choice for the Democratic nomination or your last choice (or somewhere in between) there are many, many reasons to be excited about a Biden presidency.
In this series, I will list 100 reasons, 1 by 1, to be excited about a Joe Biden presidency.
Maybe you would like to be more excited about Joe. Maybe you want to learn more. Maybe you already love Joe (like me) and want to have facts to share with your friends about him. Whatever the reason, this series is designed to share information and excitement about our future president.
Reason #4 to be excited about Joe Biden: Biden is a Mensch
This story about Biden visiting the memorial for a longtime supporter is often cited as the first story about Biden being a mensch (Yiddish for a good man — one who always tries to do the right thing by others). It was written by Rabbi Michael Beals:
It was about 16 years ago, and I was a young rabbi, brand-new to Delaware, on my way to lead a shiva minyan — a worship service following a death of a Jewish person.
In this case, the deceased individual — her name was Mrs. Greenhouse, of blessed memory — had not been a person of means. She had lived in rent-controlled senior housing in a tall high-rise building off of Namaans Road. Her apartment had been too small to fit everyone into, so we conducted our worship service in the building’s communal laundry room, in the basement of the high-rise.
We assembled the ten elders together, and it was in this most humble of places that I began to lead the kaddish. Toward the end of the service, a door at the back of the laundry room opened, and who walks in but Senator Joe Biden, his head lowered, all by himself.
I nearly dropped my prayer book in shock.
Senator Biden stood quietly in the back of the room for the duration of the service.
At the close of the kaddish, I walked over to him and asked the same question that must have been on everyone else’s mind: “Senator Biden — what are you doing here?”
And he said to me: “Listen, back in 1972, when I first ran for Senate, Mrs. Greenhouse gave $18 to my first campaign. Because that’s what she could afford. And every six years, when I’d run for reelection, she’d give another $18. She did it her whole life. I’m here to show my respect and gratitude.”
There were no news outlets at our service that day — no Jewish reporters or important dignitaries. Just a few elderly mourners in a basement laundry room.
Joe Biden didn’t come to that service for political gain. He came to that service because he has character. He came to that service because he’s a mensch.
Joe Biden is a mensch. We need a mensch.
Why is being a mensch important for being president? Because just knowing where someone stand doesn’t tell us enough about what they will do. We don’t know what issues will arise over the next four years.
But we do know that someone who genuinely cares about others and doing the right thing will give each of those situations just the right kind of consideration. And we can’t ask for better than that.
want to donate to help Biden win?
did you miss any of our 100 days? Here they are:
Day 1: Biden’s Tax Plan
Day 2: Gay Marriage
Day 3: Biden’s FDR Sized presidency
