Thinking Torah Blog

Most of us fall short of the ideals we set for ourselves. We hope to be saints, but often we are simply human beings doing our best in a world that does not always make it easy. Even Moses, our most revered prophet, made mistakes. This week in Parashat Chukat, Moses learns that he will not enter the Promised Land because of a mistake he made. Like it or not, there are consequences, even for mistakes. Yet ideals still matter. They are not about setting impossible standards but about pointing us toward who we wish to become. We strive to live with moral and ethical integrity, even as we stumble along the way.

As we approach July 4th, I find myself profoundly grateful to be an American, and especially to be a Jew in America. Nowhere else in the past two thousand years have Jews flourished in the way we have here. Our grandparents and great-grandparents could hardly have imagined the freedom and opportunities we have today. This country is far from perfect, and much work remains, but that should not diminish our appreciation for the blessings this country has provided.

In the early days of the United States, it was not clear that freedom of religious expression would truly be protected. Rhode Island held its constitutional convention in May of 1790, and only after that did the Jews of Newport present President Washington with a letter of congratulations, expressing their hopes for continued religious liberty. In response, President Washington wrote them back and included in his letter these words:

“The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.…. May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid….”

In 1790, these words were far from reality for many who lived in this new nation. We are closer today, even as we recognize how much further we have to go. I do not know if Washington believed his words to be a description of his time or a hope for the future, but for us, they remain both. As we celebrate July 4th this year, may we take time to appreciate this rare moment in Jewish history, even as we continue the work of building a more perfect union in which Washington’s words are realized for all.