EW YORK - Joseph I. Lieberman, vice presidential candidate - good for the Jews or bad for the Jews?
That was the question Jews across the country were pondering yesterday as Al Gore named the senator from Connecticut to be his running mate - the first Jew ever picked by a candidate of a major party to run for the job.
Many Jewish leaders expressed pride and celebrated the event - but many were also more than a little nervous.
Arthur Schneier, rabbi at Park East Synagogue, one of the largest modern Orthodox temples in Manhattan, was completely positive. ''It shows the maturity of American democracy,'' he said. ''It's a transformation of America. This would not have happened 25 years ago.''
Haskell Lookstein, the rabbi at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, another large, modern Orthodox synagogue, agreed: ''Jews are very well integrated in the American mainstream.''
Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political consultant and an observant Jew, also dismissed the notion of controversy. ''After years of `Seinfeld,''' he said, ''who cares?''
But others are less certain.
Leonard Gordon, the rabbi at Germantown Jewish Center, a Conservative synagogue in Philadelphia, spent much of yesterday perusing an Internet chat line of Conservative rabbis across the country.
Conservative Jews de-emphasize certain rituals that Orthodox Jews follow.
''The consensus,'' he said, ''is that this is a disaster. Nobody who's sent in an e-mail is happy about it.''
At one level, Gordon said, a Vice President Lieberman would make ''a great role model for Jewish kids - here's an observant Jew who's made it at the highest realm of American politics.''
But at another level, he went on, ''People are nervous that this is raising our profile to a place where we can be shot at. It's not so much explicit anti-Semitism that's worrisome. It's that the quirkier parts of traditional Judaism will be out there in the public domain, misunderstood, joked about.''
Lieberman is Jewish in a way that goes well beyond the pop culture portrait of Judaism - the bagels, Yiddishisms, and stand-up comic neuroses.
He is an active Orthodox Jew, which means, first and foremost, that he observes Shabbot, the Jewish Sabbath. From Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, he cannot travel except by foot; he cannot use the telephone or any other electrical device; he cannot turn a light switch on or off; he cannot carry anything outside the home.
Several rabbis emphasized that these prohibitions would not prevent Lieberman from carrying out important official duties on the Sabbath. The Talmud, the book of Jewish law, states that life-or-death situations override all other restrictions (except those forbidding murder, adultery, or idolatry). And this exemption could be interpreted to include duties of the state.
In Israel, for example, rabbinic councils have ruled that Orthodox soldiers are allowed to engage in routine army activities, even when not facing mortal danger.
Samuel Barth, dean of the Academy for Jewish Religion, a Manhattan seminary, said Lieberman could attend a Saturday session of the Senate to cast a deciding vote - although he would have to walk to the Capitol to do so and, therefore, probably have to stay overnight at a nearby hotel.
Lieberman, as senator, currently maintains an apartment within walking distance of the Capitol for just this reason. However, traveling on the Sabbath - to campaign or attend a foreign dignitary's funeral, for example - would probably not be allowed.
A larger issue, in terms of the upcoming election, is whether people will consider all these strictures a little strange.
There is concern among some Jews that, beneath the surface of modern pluralism and tolerance, anti-Semitism might not be entirely a thing of the past. After all, George W. Bush publicly expressed the opinion, not long ago, that non-Christians will not be let into heaven. Some outrage was voiced, but not enough to deny him the Republican nomination.
However, others say it is time for American Jews to tear away their insecurities. Rabbi Lookstein pointed to how John F. Kennedy wiped away anti-Catholic sentiment in the 1960 election.
He added that the suspicions about Kennedy often were centered on whether he might be ordered around by the pope, whereas Judaism does not have a single spiritual leader. There might be questions about loyalty to Israel, but, Lookstein said: ''Nearly every American politician is pro-Israel. Israel is about as American as apple pie.''
