Bernie Sanders and Jewish Tradition

This presidential election season seems to be setting records for expecting the unexpected. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' initial challenge to Hillary Clinton qualifies for inclusion on the unexpected list, but so does another aspect of his bid for the presidency. For one of the rare times in the history of the United States, a Jewish person is running for the top national office.

Sanders claims he is proud to be Jewish but is not "particularly religious." Given this admission, he would seem to be one of the estimated 1.2 million Americans who can be considered cultural Jews. Although Sanders' Jewish status is unquestioned according to Jewish law given that he is the child of a Jewish mother, his cultural Judaism stands in sharp contrast to the vocal commitment to observance that was the trademark of Joseph Lieberman, who ran for president in 2004 and was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000.