It’s a bit of a cliché, but true nevertheless, that it often takes fresh eyes for people to see what is right before them. We become jaded to the benefits we have, what might be considered unusual or special all too often becomes routine and accepted as a given. We end up taking a lot for granted.
That makes a short pre-Fourth of July “>essay on the eve of the Fourth. Rabbi David Wolpe of LA’s Sinai Temple wrote,
In Jewish history this nation stands alone. Like every human endeavor, America has a lot to answer for, sins and crimes and shortsightedness. But unlike every other human endeavor, it saw the Jews and others as equal citizens and enabled us to rise and flourish. Any American Jew who is not patriotic is ignorant of history. The fireworks on the 4th light up a landscape that should move us all to prayer and thanks. God bless America.
American Jews too often take for granted that we live in what others see as “near-optimal conditions” and that many of us are involved and concerned because we “choose” to be. While there are issues and problems and fears (and always will be), it’s refreshing to have a new set of eyes, and a pair of established ones, reaffirm how fortunate we are.
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