Five days. That’s how long it took Women for America First to organize their rally in Washington, D.C., a rally that blew the roof off all expectations. Over one million freedom-loving people from all walks of life converged on our nation’s capital on November 14. They came from Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, California, and Texas. I feel like I met them all.
These courageous Women for America First secured permits, stages, speakers, police protection, and a route, all in record time. Imagine if they had a full week to plan it! To me, that kind of supernatural success means the force of G-d got behind them.
The day started at noon on Freedom Plaza, on Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th. As the crowd started filling in, my husband looked up and spotted what looked like snipers poised at the top of the surrounding buildings. We weren’t sure what was happening. Then we heard the commotion, as hordes of people started running and cheering. President Trump drove through the crowd in a black motorcade, smiling and waving from the back seat as his caravan circled the plaza. Then, in a flash, he disappeared.
Speeches on the plaza began. They all echoed the same rally cry. How dearly we hold the Judeo-Christian values that America was founded on: G-d, Bible, Life, Liberty, Equality, and Freedom. There was not one speech that didn’t mention G-d. They spoke of how we cannot allow a fraudulent election to unravel 244 years of our hard-earned democracy. They said that if we let this election go, the inroads made for fraud, like mail-in ballots and corrupt computer programs, may never have the chance to be reversed. We may never have another honest election in this country again. This rally was bigger than Trump. This rally was to grab the ankle of American freedom before it slips away.
I visited the enormous Lincoln Memorial on Friday morning before the rally to remind my soul why I came. As I read the Gettysburg Address carved into the north wall, it became clear to me: We are still engaged in the same battle our founding fathers fought. To test if a nation, newly conceived in liberty, can long endure. We are still living inside that experiment. Hundreds of years later, we rededicate ourselves to their unfinished work.
The marble floor supporting my feet felt hallowed to me. The panoramic ivory walls surrounding me soothed my senses like Jerusalem stone. I did what all Jews do when they feel that deep longing for G-d’s help. I said some Tehillim, the ones I knew by heart. Then I looked into Lincoln’s pensive and angular face and thanked him for his foresight and his fortitude. For teaching the world that it is freedom that revives and restores the soul.
In that moment, I realized that our nation, conceived in liberty, is still in its infancy of securing that liberty for future generations. That freedom walks on wobbly legs. It is every generation’s duty to steady them. To make sure that our freedom matures into adulthood and we pass down the freedom we were graciously given.
One speaker pointed out that our brilliant Constitution set forth provisions not only for combating a foreign enemy; it had the foresight to secure us against a domestic intruder as well. An enemy from within, wanting too much power and control for itself. Those forefathers anchored for us a freedom we are just beginning to fathom and watch play out before our very eyes.
Many of us have noticed that our government has been slowly teasing our freedom away from us through means of fear and disorientation. Or, as President Trump tweeted in October, COVID, COVID, COVID. With the pandemic so closely juxtaposed to this fraudulent election, we cannot help but wonder how the two are inextricably intertwined, with the overarching theme of both being holding on to our civil liberties for dear life.
After leaving Freedom Plaza, the massive sea of people glided peacefully as a single, symbiotic organism up 14 blocks to the steps of the Supreme Court. I never felt so carried inside a tidal wave of good energy in my life. There was no yelling, pushing, or shoving. Not one piece of litter. Just goodness and love to the left and to the right. Everyone smiling at each other. The kind of glinting, playful, toothy smile you give someone when you know, they know, what you know.
My husband and I were out on our feet from 9 a.m. until we collapsed on our hotel beds at 5 p.m. The entire day felt spiritually elevated. Similar to the feeling I’ve had walking with a crowd to the Kotel on Shavuot night, it felt like a gathering for the sake of heaven, for the sake of truth. It felt like I was floating inside a bubble of Hashem’s good energy. My spiritual needs were so fed that I didn’t get hungry, thirsty, or need a bathroom the entire time. That has never happened before. Ask my husband.
As I looked around at the sea of people, I saw black, white, Asian, Hispanic, and LGBT. We walked as one family. We all came together single-mindedly to defend the integrity of a country. To shine a light on an election fraught with corruption. To support the man who never stops working for our freedom. I felt truth mingling and dancing in the air above our heads.
Truth is a balm to the frazzled soul. Truth holds a high-frequency vibration. Any time truth is spoken on earth, it moves the forces of heaven towards the swift delivery of justice. “Emes m’eretz titzmach,” whenever truth sprouts from us earth dwellers, “Tzedek mi’shamayim nishkaf,” justice peers down at us from heaven and pays attention (Psalms 85:12). The language of truth spoken on earth translates to justice in heaven.
This magical weekend came to me as an easy gift from Hashem. I mentioned it in passing to my husband on the phone on Wednesday morning. My husband is never able to take off work. On a whim, he asked his boss. His boss gave him the day, no problem. Within a few hours all the details were arranged effortlessly. My kids were all taken care of perfectly. I felt like Hashem was rewarding me for making my small rally here, with a chance to go to the big one.
We drove late Thursday night and checked in at 3:00 a.m. I got emotional checking in. It had been over a year since I checked into a hotel. The sweet Ethiopian man, Eyosias, behind the desk got choked up with me. He said the hotel had not seen this kind of action in eight months. It was nice to see life return, he told me. His name is the Ethiopian equivalent of Hoshea, meaning “G-d will save.” I took it as a sign.
On Friday morning, the lobby filled up with patriots in cowboy boots tipping their MAGA hats at each other and wishing “Godspeed.” Godspeed is my new favorite word. I have no idea how to use it. Trump country descended on polite, democratic Washington, D.C., and it was a sight to behold. Down-home met up-tight and the contrast was captivating.
As we approached the Supreme Court building, we were able to duck and weave our way to the far side of the crowd, right near the press box, with Josh and my newfound Texan soul sister, Leigh, at my side. We were positioned perfectly on a small hill, a stone’s throw from the speakers. It felt like angels led me to that spot by the hand. I cast a thank you-up to heaven for their assistance.
One of the organizers announced at the very beginning, “If you aren’t wearing a mask, we will assume you have a medical condition and we will not bother you.” Inside her words, I remembered what liberty felt like.
Dr. Simone Gold spoke powerfully, right near the same Supreme Court steps where she stood with the frontline doctors months earlier and tried to inform the world about her success with hydroxychloroquine and was immediately censored.
Pennsylvania congressman Mike Kelly yelled out over the mic, “What do we want, truth or corruption?” The crowd yelled back “Truth!” “What do we want, freedom or communism?” “Freedom!” “Who do we support, Iran or Israel?” “Israel!” That last part made me feel like I came to the right place.
Georgia congressman Vernon Jones was the final speaker of the day and we all felt the “vern.” His speech lit the crowd on fire.
Another speaker, I can’t remember his name, made a noteworthy point: he pointed out that the computer glitches only glitched one way. Hmm. I was reminded of an article I wrote back in September about memsheles zadon. Back then I had no idea that evil’s dominion would end up referring to voting software.
There was some Antifa action late at night after the rally. They marched past my hotel, making noise and throwing up firecrackers. From my perspective they looked staged, trite, and theatrical.
But my absolute favorite moment happened hours before the rally began with no one around to witness it. Our hotel overlooked Freedom Plaza, so I went down early to check out the scene by myself. It was 8:00 a.m. and only a handful of people were roaming around the plaza.
I saw a group of people huddled around a tall, dark, handsome man. He looked distinguished and possibly famous. So I joined them and listened in. He was explaining to this group different theories currently floating around about government.
This tall man captivated me with all the information he had at his fingertips. I don’t think I could coherently repeat any of what he said. But at the time, it all made perfect sense.
Someone in the group asked me to take a picture for her and I apologized to her that it was my Sabbath and I couldn’t. I saw him take note of that. He continued explaining different ideas. At one point, I challenged him, “If there is so much corruption in government, how did Trump win in 2016?” He paused, leaned over close to my ear, and whispered. “Vus is bashert, is bashert.”
What did he just say? Inside that moment, everything went quiet, time stood still. One verse echoed inside my head, “All the forces of darkness cannot stop what G-d has ordained” (Isaiah 14:27). Good and evil are in the process of sorting themselves out. A close friend recently told me that. We just need to be patient.
We need to rest assured that nothing can stop what’s coming. Nothing. G-d is bigger than the media, pharmaceutical companies, and tech giants. They are fodder in His hands.
We ask G-d to assist Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and the whole Trump legal team in unearthing the biggest political scandal in history. May we merit to see truth revealed clearly before our eyes inside this new month of salvation and miracles. May G-d invert all plans for evil into blessing and prosperity. And most of all, may we merit to see His Hand guiding our shared destiny every single step of the way.