Statement by the Auburn Senior Fellows

Jewish tradition teaches that when a tzadeket—a righteous person—dies, an opening is created for a moral and spiritual awakening. We pray that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, an unimaginable loss that comes with devastating implications for our nation, will in fact spark that great awakening.

We grieve, first and foremost for the death of this brilliant, fierce and courageous woman, a role model to millions, whose revolutionary commitment to equality, fairness, integrity and decency has touched every one of our lives and made this country and the world better. We pray for her family and friends as they grieve this deepest of personal losses. We offer our voice of comfort, light and love as you mourn the loss of your mother, aunt, grandmother and friend.

And we hold anticipatory grief for the ramifications of her death and the brazen political maneuverings that are ensuing upon her death. Justice Ginsberg remained deliberate in her dedication to our democracy, as she dictated to her granddaughter just before her death, her fervent wish that no replacement for her seat be named until after the election. We pray that our elected leaders take her wisdom to heart because Justice Ginsberg is not done yet. She of all people would fervently decry the passive acceptance of predetermined outcomes.

We join in community to mourn, honor and reflect on this pioneering champion whose values are seen in the extraordinary outpouring of love for this diminutive giant, a Justice For All. She remains a powerful role model. May we all find our own resilience and righteousness from the Notorious RBG in the consequential days ahead.

May her memory be a blessing.

Auburn Senior Fellows bring inspiration and action to the media and public square, reaching tens of millions of people every year with messages of faith, reckoning, hope and prophetic imagination.