America at 250: A Jewish Reflection on Gratitude and Responsibility
This Shabbat, the United States will celebrate its 250th birthday. It’s a remarkable milestone. Few nations endure for two and a half centuries. Fewer still emerge from those centuries as prosperous, influential, and free as the United States has been. Yet this anniversary arrives at a complicated moment. We live in an era of political polarization, social division, and declining trust in many of our institutions. It has become fashionable in some circles to focus almost exclusively on America’s shortcomings, while others insist that any criticism of the nation is somehow unpatriotic. Neither approach is particularly helpful. As Jews, we are perhaps uniquely positioned to offer a more balanced perspective. One of the fascinating aspects of American history is the extent to which the Founding Fathers looked to the Hebrew Bible for inspiration. Did you know that Benjamin Franklin proposed a national seal depicting Moses leading the Israelites through the Red Sea. Or that Thom...