REMEMBERING JUSTICE GINSBURG

Yesterday, I met Lisa Spain, who is our Tikkun Olam chairwoman, at the Supreme Court to pay our respects to Ruth Bader Ginsburg.   We both felt compelled to be there.   Let me tell you what I observed:

• A young artist sketching pictures of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She had a lighter and, so, helped us light the yahrzeit candle that we brought on behalf of Beth Chai.

• An elderly woman, with a walker, decked out in RBG attire with a battery-operated memorial candle and a radio playing classical music quietly. She had the look of a person who had spent most of the day opposite the court.

• Two parents with their young daughter on the Capital yard. The girl was thumbing through a picture book biography of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, while her parents read it to her and pointed out the façade of the Court.

• Two women, dressed in designer suits with stiletto heels. They had a large floral wreath, with a sash that read “The citizens of New York mourn the passing of Justice Ginsburg.”

• A large group of women in black t-shirts, speaking Spanish. One of the women had made lace collars for her friends and she was passing them out and helping them to put them on.

The people gathered were different ages, different races, some wore church t-shirts, some had on kippot.  But, none of that mattered.  It was a solemn, peaceful gathering but had overwhelming civility to it.   I think Justice Ginsburg would have approved.