May is Jewish American heritage month. Even though Jews represent just 2% of the American population, we have had an outsized impact on our country. By all accounts, we are in a golden age of Jewish life in America. Even as we are mindful of the rising antisemitism in our country, a Jew born today in America has a better chance to find meaning, purpose, and success here than at any time, anywhere on earth, except, of course, for the modern state of Israel.
Each of us is an ambassador for the American Jewish community. Whether you are Jewish or part of a Jewish family, we are all representatives of our people's values, traditions, and heritage. When a student becomes a bar or bat mitzvah, when someone converts to Judaism, or when we choose to wear jewelry or clothing that identifies us as Jewish, we become mindful that our actions now reflect on the whole of the Jewish people.
For many, the Yiddish phrase, “a shande for the goyim,” comes to mind. This phrase, loosely translated, means that our actions could bring shame to the Jewish people from the non-Jewish world. This is the negative phrase that compels many to act according to behaviors that will bring pride, rather than shame, to the Jewish people.
On the other hand, I believe we should be governed by the positive words of the prophet Isaiah (42:5–7), “Thus said God, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and what it brings forth, Who gave breath to the people upon it and life to those who walk thereon: I, Adonai, in My grace, have summoned [the Jewish people], And I have grasped you by the hand. I created you, and appointed you a covenant people, a light unto the nations.” Rather than focus on what the nations might think of us, Isaiah and God describe what we might have to contribute to the rest of the world—light. If we focus on shining the light of our gifts to our neighbors, our communities, and our country, then we will surely fill this land with light.
As we celebrate the contributions of the Jewish people to the United States of America all month long, we remember that our imperative comes from our prophets to be a light unto the nations. But we can also take a phrase from the most Jewish of Hollywood movies, Stars Wars. On this most auspicious of days, May 4th, I’d like to wish everyone…
May the 4th be with you and Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Max
