Every once in a while, Shiva Assar B’Tammuz, the fast day that kicks off the Three Weeks falls, out on July 4th and we have a real dilemma. How do we reconcile fasting all day with a barbecue? Do you wake up really early in the morning before the fast starts, have a coffee, and quickly grill a hot dog or two? Do you barbecue to fulfill the Mitzvah of barbecuing on July 4th and just not eat? Do you break your fast on corn on the cob?
These are the things that keep American rabbis up late at night.
In all seriousness, as American Jews, and yes, I will include myself in that category even though I only have a green card – as American Jews – Jews who live in and love America, this upcoming week is a wild mix of contradictions.
On July 4th, Independence Day, the day that the people of this country declared independence from British rule, we will celebrate.
On July 6th, Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, the day that the Romans breached the walls of Jerusalem after a long and deadly siege, we will mourn.
On July 4th, Independence Day, we will pledge allegiance to this glorious country.
On July 6th, Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, we will pray to leave this country and for our return to the land of Israel.
On July 4th, Independence Day, we will praise democracy, plurality, and religious freedom.
On July 6th, Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, we will dream of a Messianic king, a Jewish State, and a return of the Sanhedrin – the Jewish Supreme Court that will enforce Jewish Law in the land.
How to fast and barbecue on the same day is the least of our problems; the Jewish dream and the American dream are not as compatible as we often think.
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I’d like to share with you a story about a man named Jonas Phillips that is emblematic of the tension that we will experience this coming week. On September 7, 1787, a few days before the ratification of the United States Constitution, Jonas Phillips, formerly Pheybush, a German Jew who immigrated to the US, wrote a letter to George Washington to complain about religious discrimination. At the time of the Constitutional Convention, delegates were required to take an oath and swear that the Old and New Testaments were written through divine inspiration – something that no Jew would dream of doing.
The thinking of the time was this that was fully in line with freedom of religion as no one was being forced to worship a religion they didn’t believe in. The fact that this precluded one from being a delegate was immaterial. But Jonas argued that true freedom of religion meant being able to be an involved member of society, to take one’s religion into the public square and have the exact same privileges as all other religious individuals. Ultimately, they changed the rule and allowed Jews to become delegates and set the stage for the freedoms that we enjoy today.
Jonas Phillips was the embodiment of all the good that America has to offer. He was an immigrant who came with nothing but built up a number of successful businesses. Though he was German, he married a Sefardic woman. In the 18th century that was considered “marrying up” for a German Jew – something that would only happen in the melting pot called America. And despite his involvement in business and politics, he remained a devout and unabashed Jew.
But at the same time that this glorious American freedom was opening so many doors for him and his co-religionists, it came with its own set of problems.
Jonas’s wife, Rebecca, was the daughter of the Chazan of the Spanish Portuguese Synagogue in New York. The Spanish Portuguese synagogue was led by its lay leaders and they ruled with an iron fist. They would fine people for misconduct. They would fine people for not coming to shul when they were supposed to… They were the ones who decided who could and who could not sell kosher meat. It wasn’t just a shul, it was the center of the community, through which the entire community was led. For most of her life, the Spanish Portuguese Synagogue was the only shul in New York city. But as this country started to embrace and elevate the notion of freedom, the model of a hierarchical synagogue seemed backward, it seemed rather British. This is the land of the free!
During the last years of Rebecca’s life, a breakaway shul opened in Manhattan, and the same trend continued all over the country. It’s not a Baltimore Pikesville invention. Professor Jonathan Sarna traces a direct line from the American Revolution to breakaway shuls and the dissolution of the community-synagogue. The splintering of communities which we are so accustomed to today is a byproduct of the new-found freedom and autonomy that this country had to offer.
And that’s benign compared to some of the other byproducts of freedom. Jonas and Rebecca Phillips had 21 children. Most of his children, it seems, within a generation or two did not keep the faith. Yes, it was certainly hard to find Jewish spouses in the 18th century, but that trend continues today. The intermarriage rate in the US is currently at 61%. Freedom of religion means freedom to opt out of religion.
And then there are other impacts of freedom and independence that are not unique to Judaism. Franklin Moses Jr. was a grandson of Jonas Phillips. He became the 75th governor of South Carolina; fought for equal right for black citizens and also embezzled significant funds from the government. He spent the last years of his life in and out of jail as he struggled with an addiction to meth.
The US has the highest rates of drug usage in the world. There is growing evidence that suggests a correlation between our independence from one another and America’s rising rates of depression and self-medication. The freedom to be independent from one another, to not be responsible for one another feels good, but it is not necessarily good for us at all.
The Phillips family is a cautionary tale about the mixed bag called American Freedom. The story of Jonas Phillips and his family is one worth thinking about on Shiva Asar B’Tammuz. Because absent a Bais Hamikdash which we will be praying for on Shiva Assar B’Tammuz, without that central place that unites us all, we continue to splinter. Not only by religious practices and beliefs, but even by differences like politics or age.
Absent a Messianic Era which we will be praying for on Shiva Assar B’Tammuz, in which a rich and all-embracing spirituality will be felt in the air, more and more Jews will continue to walk away from their faith as there is nothing compelling them to stay.
Absent a firm commitment to a value system that compels us to look out and be responsible for one another, we will continue to descend into maddening loneliness.
There is a lot to pray for and yearn for on July 6th, on Shiva Assar B’Tammuz.
But I am happy that Shiva Assar B’Tammuz does not coincide with Independence Day. Because we also need to give thanks for this wonderful country. Just this past week there was a critical ruling by the Supreme Court that was completely overshadowed by the Affirmative Action ruling. A man by the name of Gerald Groff, an Evangelical Christian lost his job as a US postal deliveryman because he refused to work on his Sabbath. The USPS argued that Groff’s not working on his Sabbath caused his employers undue hardship and they were therefore justified in penalizing him for not working on his Sabbath. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that the USPS was incorrect, and that it was they who had to accommodate to his religious observances. This ruling has tremendous implications for Shabbos observant people in the workforce and it continues the long and great legacy of religious rights and protections kick-started by Jonas Phillips.
The Ibn Ezra suggests that the sin of Moshe at the rock was not that he hit the rock instead of speaking to the rock, not that he got angry. His sin can be found a few verses later where the Torah tells us Az Yashir Yisrael, that the Jewish People sang because the water gave forth water. Last time the Torah had the words, Az Yashir, it concluded with Moshe. Here Moshe was silent. He did not sing and that was his sin; not giving thanks for the water they received. To allow our concerns about America and the dangers of freedom to prevent us from giving thanks would be a grave mistake.
In 1984, Rav Moshe Feinstein, the greatest Halachic authority of the 20th century, wrote: “On reaching the shores of the United States; Jews found a safe haven. The rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights have allowed us the freedom to practice our religion without interference and to live in this republic in safety. A fundamental principle of Judaism is hakaras hatov — recognizing benefits afforded us and giving expression to our appreciation.”
So, enjoy your barbecue on July 4th, and have a meaningful fast on July 6th. Let’s appreciate what we have and yearn for something even greater.