Dear Mr. Mamdani:

Your mayoral election victory this week was a remarkable achievement and your progressive message has been endorsed by a clear majority of New Yorkers. If your economic plan to tax the rich and provide free services for the poor were the only focus of your campaign, some of your detractors would still be concerned, but not fearful. The fear in question stems from the fact that you ran a campaign that demonized the State of Israel by falsely accusing it of committing genocide, and thus legitimized the libelous words of anti-Semites citywide and beyond. Surely you can understand that your perceived hostility towards the Jewish people caused a significant percentage of New York's Jews to vote for the other candidates, even as some Jews embraced your candidacy with enthusiasm.

Your Arabic name, Zohran, means radiance or illumination, just like its Hebrew equivalent, Zohar. But a dark cloud now occludes our sky due to your callous rhetoric.

This week, Jews all across the world will gather in synagogue to read the Torah portion Vayera and relive the challenges of our mutual father Abraham. The rabbis of the Talmud (Bava Metzia 87a) derive a significant lesson about righteous leadership from Abraham's hospitality to three strangers:

כְּתִיב: ״וְאֶקְחָה פַת לֶחֶם״, וּכְתִיב: ״וְאֶל הַבָּקָר רָץ אַבְרָהָם״, אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר: מִכָּאן שֶׁצַּדִּיקִים אוֹמְרִים מְעַט וְעוֹשִׂים הַרְבֵּה, רְשָׁעִים אוֹמְרִים הַרְבֵּה, וַאֲפִילּוּ מְעַט אֵינָם עוֹשִׂים

It is written: “And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and satisfy your heart” (Genesis 18:5), and it is written: “And Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good” (Genesis 18:7). Rabbi Elazar said: From here we learn that the righteous say little and do much, whereas the wicked say much and do not do even a little.

The Talmud continues by demonstrating wickedness from Ephron in next week's Torah portion. Ephron feigned generosity in his negotiations with Abraham for a burial plot for Sarah, but ended up charging him an exorbitant amount. Abraham, on the other hand, told his guests he would provide a basic meal, and then pulled out all the stops with some tasty veal. You are now mayor-elect and your mission will surely be to translate your grandiose promises into concrete action, and not allow them to become empty words. 

I would caution you, however, that in your prominent position, half of the job is not just what you do; it is what you say. For the mayor of New York City, words can be equivalent to action. A climate of hysteria and hatred, or peace and equanimity, could be the product of your carefully chosen comments. Consider the horrifying spike in anti-Semitic incidents in New York over the past two years, and ask yourself if perhaps a constant barrage of one-sided accusations against Israel had anything to do with that. Elected leaders have a responsibility to not further fuel the open season on Jews now metastasizing in your city. 

You are on the record as supporting BDS, which unfairly targets Israel among all other nations. You have stated that Israel does not have the right to exist as a Jewish state. Surely you can comprehend that this is threatening language which emboldens Israel's enemies and makes Jews feel less safe.

Of course, the Jewish people's historic and eternal connection to the Land of Israel remains a truism that renders your approval or denial completely irrelevant. On 1/1, you will become the 111th mayor of New York City. If someone mistakenly believes that you as #111 or any of your predecessors or successors could change this fact, they ought to open up their Book of Psalms to #111 and read:

כֹּ֣חַ מַ֭עֲשָׂיו הִגִּ֣יד לְעַמּ֑וֹ לָתֵ֥ת לָ֝הֶ֗ם נַחֲלַ֥ת גּוֹיִֽם׃

He revealed to His people His powerful works,
in giving them the heritage of nations.

This verse from #111 is famously invoked by the first Rashi on the Torah as the very purpose of the Book of Genesis: to establish the Land of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people:

אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק לֹֹֹֹֹא הָיָה צָרִיךְ לְהַתְחִיל אֶת הַתּוֹרָה אֶלָּא מֵהַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם, שֶׁהִיא מִצְוָה רִאשׁוֹנָה שֶׁנִּצְטַוּוּ בָּהּ יִשׂרָאֵל, וּמַה טַּעַם פָּתַח בִּבְרֵאשִׁית? מִשׁוּם כֹּחַ מַעֲשָׂיו הִגִּיד לְעַמּוֹ לָתֵת לָהֶם נַחֲלַת גּוֹיִם (תהילים קי"א), שֶׁאִם יֹאמְרוּ אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם לְיִשְׁרָאֵל לִסְטִים אַתֶּם, שֶׁכְּבַשְׁתֶּם אַרְצוֹת שִׁבְעָה גוֹיִם, הֵם אוֹמְרִים לָהֶם כָּל הָאָרֶץ שֶׁל הַקָּבָּ"ה הִיא, הוּא בְרָאָהּ וּנְתָנָהּ לַאֲשֶׁר יָשַׁר בְּעֵינָיו, בִּרְצוֹנוֹ נְתָנָהּ לָהֶם, וּבִרְצוֹנוֹ נְטָלָהּ מֵהֶם וּנְתָנָהּ לָנוּ:

Rabbi Isaac said: The Torah which is the Law book of Israel should have commenced with the verse (Exodus 12:2) “This month shall be unto you the first of the months” which is the first commandment given to Israel. What is the reason, then, that it commences with the account of the Creation? Because of the thought expressed in the text (Psalms 111:6) “He declared to His people the strength of His works (i.e. He gave an account of the work of Creation), in order that He might give them the heritage of the nations.” For should the peoples of the world say to Israel, “You are robbers, because you took by force the lands of the seven nations of Canaan”, Israel may reply to them, “All the earth belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He; He created it and gave it to whom He pleased. When He willed He gave it to them, and when He willed He took it from them and gave it to us” (Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 187).

It is our Torah and not any politician's statement that grants possession of and engenders our infatuation with our homeland. Your cliched cries of לִסְטִים אַתֶּם, that the Jewish people do not have any authority over this sliver of the Middle East, do not sway us one iota. Our 111 preceded your 111. They do, however, create an unacceptable atmosphere of intimidation. The way you begin your term as mayor will either confirm our fears or allay them. What will your Day One on 1/1 look like?

There is a fascinating Day One described in Vayera that I would like to call to your attention. It is only hinted to in the text itself:

וַ֠יָּבֹ֠אוּ שְׁנֵ֨י הַמַּלְאָכִ֤ים סְדֹ֙מָה֙ בָּעֶ֔רֶב וְל֖וֹט יֹשֵׁ֣ב בְּשַֽׁעַר־סְדֹ֑ם וַיַּרְא־לוֹט֙ וַיָּ֣קׇם לִקְרָאתָ֔ם וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּ אַפַּ֖יִם אָֽרְצָה׃

The two messengers arrived in Sodom in the evening, as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to greet them and, bowing low with his face to the ground,

Rashi questions why it is necessary to tell us where exactly Lot was sitting when the malachim showed up. Why is it important that he was situated at the gate specifically? 

ישב כְּתִיב, אוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם מִנּוּהוּ שׁוֹפֵט עֲלֵיהֶם (בראשית רבה):

The word is written without a ו so that it may be read יָשַׁב (he sat) — because that day they had appointed him as their judge (Genesis Rabbah 50:3).

Not only was Lot a government official who presided at the gate, it was literally his first day in office. He had just been elected to govern in Sodom. This meant that on Day One he felt a lot of public pressure to conform to the unwelcoming corporate culture of Sodom. All eyes were on Lot!

Now, with that context established, we can appreciate Lot's moral dilemma as two strangers approached. His natural instincts, bred in the home of Abraham, urged him to usher them in and protect them. His sense of civic duty and Sodomite peer pressure demanded he spurn these guests. Remarkably, the voice of Abraham resonated within him, and Lot welcomed these people. In doing so, he undermined his own authority and tarnished his reputation. Lot's humanity eclipsed his ideology.

This will be your test, too, Mr. Mamdani. On Day One, will you recognize that your words give license to behaviors that make New York City inhospitable to Jewish residents? Will you let your sense of compassion for the "little guy" spill over to embrace a nation that faces constant, unrelenting bigotry? Will you acknowledge that no person can ever sever the bond between the Jewish people and their land, and cease commenting about Israel altogether? All of these action items will free you to actually govern the city that elected you.