Where We Keep The Light (REVIEW)

Inspired by the Prophet Isaiah, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro fittingly named his recently published book Where We Keep the Light. Referring to the Jewish people, Isaiah transmitted Gd’s message that they should be an Ohr LaGoyim a “light unto the nations.” They were to serve as a moral, ethical, and spiritual example to the world. It was a task Shapiro embraced and took literally and seriously.

Shapiro’s personal story will provide a greater understanding of what it is like for a Jew living in America, but more explicitly serving as a Jewish governor. Recently, an alarming incident occurred involving Shapiro’s family that would horrify any person with an intact moral compass. An antisemitic arsonist named, Cody Balmer, set the Governor’s mansion ablaze while Shapiro and his family were asleep because he presumed the governor had “plans’ to hurt the Palestinian Arabs. Cody’s misbegotten assumption that Shapiro had nefarious “plans” was because Shapiro is Jewish. At the completion of an investigation, the fire marshal verified that indeed the arsonist had deliberately set the Governor’s mansion on fire. Shapiro’s 14-year-old son Reuben asked “did someone try to kill us because we are Jewish?” The clarity of his son’s question underscored the truth and shattered Shapiro’s “illusion of security.” However, because Shapiro and his wife Lori live a life where their Jewish faith is the fabric of their family, they would not allow a terrorist to tear it apart.

Shapiro proved to be an equal opportunity critic of both the Democrats and Republicans. He argued that both political parties were engaging in a raucous war of words, drowning out the voices of their opponents. Although not shy about his dislike of President Trump, Shapiro did exhibit a degree of fairmindedness, absent in too many of his colleagues, when he stated, “We can’t oppose everything he does just because we don’t like the guy.” Shapiro believes that the current political environment is in disarray and in need of incremental repair. He punctuated his conviction with, “What it doesn’t require is a wrecking ball.”

Shapiro shared with the reader that his path to the governorship took a circuitous path. While attending the University of Rochester as a pre-med student he learned that he was not qualified to go to medical school. He switched his major to political science and sometime after graduation he attended law school in the evenings. After a short stint with a Philadelphia corporate law firm, he felt that law was not his passion, but public service was, and that was when he decided to go into politics.

In pursuit of his goal to serve his community, he decided to run for public office. He ran, won, and successively served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, became a member of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, served as Pennsylvania Attorney General, and is currently the Governor of Pennsylvania.

Shapiro explained that his position on same sex marriage, funding the police, health care, drug and alcohol treatment have evolved over time. When Covid hit, he received vaccinations and put on a mask but did not require his employees to do the same. As for the business community, he wanted to be a pro-growth governor by cutting taxes to help stimulate the market place. He admitted that some of his positions did not sit well with members of his party.

During the run-up to the 2024 election, it became apparent that President Biden was not up to a second term as president, therefore Shapiro shared internal polling numbers with the president and told him that it would be best for him to get out of the race. Biden resisted but finally relented and dropped out of the race. It was shortly after Kamala Harris replaced Biden on the ticket that Shapiro learned that she was considering him as her running mate.

Then the vetting began.

Harris’s staff questioned Shapiro about his policy positions and especially those with which his views were at odds with the Vice President’s. They were particularly interested in the reason for his taking a hard line on the campus protesters who were vandalizing property, as well as intimidating and assaulting Jewish students. Because he was the governor of Pennsylvania, they were particularly concerned about his criticism of the University of Pennsylvania’s lackadaisical response to campus antisemitism. The party’s power base also felt his positions on Israel may be a problem for Arab Americans, who disapproved of his strong support of Israel.

On one occasion, former White House counsel, Dana Remus, asked him if he had ever been a double agent for Israel. Shapiro bristled at the question and told her how offensive it was. Although Shapiro understood that she was just doing her job, it told him a lot about the kind of people who were on the Kamala Harris’s team. He decided to turn down her offer to run for the second highest office in the land and instead directed his focus on his three loves: his family, his religion, and the constituents of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Josh Shapiro’s book Where We Keep the Light provides an intimate portrait of the life of Governor Josh Shapiro in detailed and easy to read prose. He gives the reader access to the inner workings and machinations of today’s political environment. In short, Shapiro’s very personal account of both his family and political life illuminates where he came from, where he is, and where he is heading.