The Decalogue Society of Lawyers joins with all Americans to mourn the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this past Friday. Her death coincided with the turning of the Hebrew calendar to the new year of 5781 on Rosh Hashanah. During the prayers on that day, Jews recite Unesaneh Tokef: a reminder to us all that though our future is uncertain, we do have the choice to engage in acts of goodness and to seek a life of righteousness.
The motto of the Decalogue Society is “Tzedek, Tzedek, Tirdof” – Justice, Justice Shall You Pursue. In Hebrew, the word “justice” (tzedek) and the word “charity” (tzedakah) share the same root, which comes from the Hebrew word for righteous.
Justice Ginsburg’s life of dedication was one of righteousness. She was a strong, educated, successful woman, having risen to the heights of her profession and serving as a justice on the highest court of the land. But she will also be remembered for her kindness, compassion, and efforts for others. After graduating from Cornell University in 1954, she started a family with her husband, Martin Ginsburg. She enrolled in Harvard Law School only after Martin returned from his military service, where she not only addressed the challenges of a male-dominated institution (being one of nine women in a 500-person class), she had to balance motherhood and taking care of Martin, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
When Martin obtained a position at a New York law firm, Justice Ginsburg went with him transferring to Columbia Law School, where she served on the law review and graduated first in her class in 1959. She served as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Edmund L. Palmeieri, before working and traveling for the Columbia Project on International Civil Procedure. She taught at Rutgers University Law School and Columbia Law School, where she became the first female tenured professor and directed the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, leading the fight against gender discrimination and successfully arguing various cases before the USSC.
She was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter and to the United States Supreme Court in 1993 by President Bill Clinton. As a member of the Supreme Court, she participated in, and decided numerous cases that impacted the liberty of so many Americans, including writing the famous 1996 opinion in US v. Virginia, holding that qualified female candidates could not be denied admission to the Virginia Military institute. Importantly, she was a person of abiding respect for others – including those with opinions differing from her own; her close friendship with fellow Justice Anton Scalia was well known. She frequently spoke and gave of her time to various legal groups and to mentor other women in the legal practice. She was also proud of her Jewish faith.
Justice Ginsburg’s righteous example is one that all attorneys can seek to emulate. And it is one that all Americans should celebrate.
As we mark the new year, let us each choose the path of righteousness. Those of us observing Yom Kippur should take to heart the Unesaneh Tokef prayer and consciously choose to do good. May her memory serve for blessings to all who knew her. May her memory serve as a beacon to the rest of us.
(photo from Decalogue’s 2002 Merit Award Dinner honoring Justice Ginsburg)