Jewish Identity and Our American Moment
The commentary explores Jewish identity through the narratives of Abraham and Isaac, emphasizing the dual role of Jews as strangers and neighbors in society, particularly in the context of American history and current challenges.
meirsoloveichik.comJews in America are yearning for someone to show them the way into the meaning and deeper beauty of our tradition.
Who is a Jew? A person in travail with God’s dreams and designs; a person to whom God is a challenge, not an abstraction. He is called upon to know of God’s stake in history; to be involved in the sanctification of time and in building of the Holy Land; to cultivate passion for justice and the ability to experience the arrival of Friday evening as
... See moreIn the case of the Israelites, this deportation had several effects on their religious life. Until then, Israelite identity had been tied in large measure to the particular tribe to which one belonged. But tribes’ identities were derivative of the land they inhabited. Once Israelites were exiled from their land, tribal identity was almost impossibl
... See moreJewish existence is not only the adherence to particular doctrines and observances but primarily the living in the spiritual order of the Jewish people, the living in the Jews of the past and with the Jews of the present. It is not only a certain quality in the souls of the individuals; it is primarily involvement and participation in the covenant
... See moreAmerican Jews, I held, should uphold Israel’s right to defend itself and to exist as the Jewish State. They should respect the responsibility that Israelis bore by choosing their leaders democratically. Israel, for its part, must acknowledge American Jewish pluralism and behave as the nation-state of all the Jewish people.