America is No Different

This Shabbat coincides with the Fourth of July as America marks its 250th year. 

There is an old story about ships arriving at Ellis Island. Some Jewish immigrants, believing that success in America required leaving the old ways behind, would symbolically throw their tallis and tefillin overboard before docking. Whether literally true or not, the story captures a mindset that many immigrants shared: what was important for Jewish life in the "Old World" was no longer needed in America. Maybe it was even a burden. 

But when Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn arrived on America's shores in 1940, he famously declared, "America iz nit andersh." America is no different. 
He meant that there is no reason to compromise authentic Jewish life here. If our parents and grandparents could remain faithful under persecution, then surely we can remain faithful in a country that guarantees religious liberty and opportunity. That same day he established a yeshiva.  

The Rebbe explained that compromising one's faith and traditions was not only unnecessary, but actually contrary to the ideals that make America great. In writing about public menorah lightings, he said they gave many Jews “a sense of pride in their Yiddishkeit... and the realization that there is no reason, really, in this free country, to hide one’s Jewishness.” On the contrary, he wrote, living openly as a Jew is entirely consistent with America's ideal of E Pluribus Unum, where people of different faiths and backgrounds contribute to the strength of the nation.

Alongside this message, the Rebbe emphasized gratitude for the blessings America has given the Jewish people. He would quote the prophet Jeremiah’s instruction that we: “Seek the welfare of the place in which you live... for in its peace you shall have peace.” 

While this applies wherever Jews live, it carries particular meaning in America, a country that has given us so much. The Rebbe often spoke about what this country had done for him and his family. He expressed deep personal gratitude that America had provided refuge from both Stalin and Hitler. It also enabled his father-in-law to reestablish the Chabad-Lubavitch movement on these shores, from where he would grow into a global movement serving the Jewish people and humanity.

One of America's greatest strengths is that its founding recognized the Creator. As our currency reminds us, "In G-d We Trust." Freedom is one of life's greatest blessings, but freedom without moral responsibility cannot sustain a society. As a free people, we must recognize that our rights and responsibilities come from the Divine Creator. 

Trust in G-d and a spirit of gratitude are two of the foundations that have sustained America's blessings. If we strengthen our trust in G-d and never lose our gratitude for Him and for the freedoms He has granted us, we can help ensure that those blessings continue for generations to come.
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So as we celebrate Independence Day this week, let us thank Hashem for the blessings of America, pray for its continued peace and prosperity, and use the freedoms we enjoy not just for our personal quality of life, but for the good of others as well, to build stronger Jewish homes, raise proud Jewish children, and live openly and faithfully as Jews. That’s how we show that today, just as the Frierdiker Rebbe said in 1940, “America iz nit andersh.”