In 1938, Jewish songwriter Irving Berlin published the unofficial national anthem, God Bless America. The original, drafted in 1918, was cut from the show he was working on. The song’s early lyrics included a line that divided Americans. The text read:
God Bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her
And guide her
To the right with the light from above.
By 1938, he needed a song that would bring Americans together as the war in Europe loomed.
The words that came to be in 1938, still taught to children today, read:
God bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her
And guide her
Through the night with the light from above.
May God bless America, a land that I love. With light from above I pray that we will be able to come together so that from the mountains to the prairies, to the ocean white with foam, that American can remain a home, sweet home, that brings us great pride.
On this 4th of July, the 248th year of Independence, may God bless America.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rachael
