By Norine F. Krasnogor, Esq.

How do I best describe being part of an event, held in the august chambers of the U.S. Supreme Court, where the Pursuit of Justice Award was presented to Justice Elena Kagan, Dec.16, 2013?  The award was presented to her by the American Association of Jewish Lawyers & Jurists [AAJLJ], of which I am a member.

Where do I begin?  As a glorious chapter in American Jewish history and jurisprudence? As a link to my, my sister and daughter becoming lawyers? Or hearing Justice Kagan, whose Hebrew name is Leah, identified with the fourth of our tradition’s matriarchs? All occurred to me as I watched Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg present the award to Justice Kagan, the third sitting Jewish Justice at the Court today.

Norine Krasnogor with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Justice Ginsburg shared anecdotes about Justice Kagan with us immediately following the Justice’s known accomplishments, i.e. first woman dean of Harvard Law School and first woman Solicitor General of the U.S.  I did not know (but am not surprised) that as a bat mitzvah at the Modern Orthodox Lincoln Square Synagogue, she argued with the rabbi about where she believed her place should be as she read the week’s portion and comment. But I did not expect how deeply interested and moved the Justice would be by the meaning of the art award presented to her. The painting had, in Hebrew, the names of the four matriarchs with the four cups of wine symbolizing the seder, and Justice Kagan as the fourth woman Justice. Also evoked was Miriam, recognized by our tradition as having ensured Jewish continuity after we left Egypt.

When I told Justice Kagan that her confirmation response to a question about how she spent Christmas resonated with many of us, she laughingly suggested it would be the way she will be remembered. As you may recall, and I paraphrase, she said that although she did not specifically remember, she probably went out for Chinese dinner and a movie, as Jews often do.

Another historic anecdote, which stunned me, recited by Justice Ginsburg, was that some of the sitting Justices turned their chairs around so that their backs would face Justice Louis Brandeis when he spoke.

We Jews have come a long way in a country that, periodically, opened its doors to our grandparents and parents, paving the way for our generation to stand on their shoulders and reap the rewards of their hard work and sacrifices. Yet it is the generational return to the profound models of our matriarchs and patriarchs that ensure our continuing vitality and values.

Norine Krasnogor has been a “Jewish activist” since 1979, during the movement to free Soviet Jewry. An ardent supporter of Israel, her decision to attend law school and enter the field of immigration law originated from her early days advocating for Soviet Jews. She has since been joined in her immigration practice by her daughter, Julie Daniel.