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July 4th a good time to affirm religious values
YOSEF ABRAMOWITZ
Special to Jewish News
Jewish holidays affirm Jewish values. In the summer, however, there are very few Jewish holidays to celebrate with our families.
The secular calendar affords us an opportune moment to integrate Jewish values into our daily life. By celebrating the Fourth of July in the context of our Jewish values, rituals, and history, we teach our children that Judaism is not merely an activity that we can begin and end, but rather a total identity and way of life. Celebrating July Fourth has helped Jews to comfortably become part of the American mosaic.
To Americans, it may seem natural that Jews should be treated as equal citizens. However, the Jewish experience for thousands of years has been a very different one. In every society in which we have lived, we were outcasts and were subject to discrimination and oppression. In the course of our 4,000-year history, we have constituted a nation that has periodically been banished from its homeland and been dispersed among many nations. Under Muslim rule, we were by and large tolerated in most places. Under Christian rule, we were often lucky to be permitted to earn a livelihood, and then only in exchange for exacting taxes.
Part of the reason for this fear and oppression of Jews may be that the Jews have long defied a clear model of classification. The development of the modern, secular nation-state brought the promise of equal rights for individuals rather than specific rights and privileges for people of certain classes or religions. Yet the question of who and what the Jews are is still sometimes debated, often by Jews themselves. Yes, Jews are a religious group, adherents of a religion called Judaism. But the Jews are also a people bound together by a common history, and even those born of Jewish parents who do not practice or who reject Judaism are still Jews.
A third dimension is that Jews are a nation, having re-established the modern state of Israel in the ancient Jewish homeland. And no, Jews are not a race - a fact made evident by looking at the rainbow of faces of the Jews in Israel.
With which aspects of Jewish life do you and your children identify? Our children rarely understand these elements of being Jewish, since American Jewry has emphasized ethnicity and culture. Surveys indicate that most Jews classify themselves as cultural Jews or religious Jews. Others say their Jewish identity has a national component. In fact, they react when other Jews are threatened - you may recall how you felt when Israel was under SCUD attacks during the Persian Gulf War.
As proud citizens of the United States, Jews run into no conflict or religious dilemma when celebrating the birthday of the United States on the Fourth of July. Here are some hands-on ways to integrate Jewish values into your Fourth of July celebration:
ù Have a Fourth of July party/dinner with a Jewish theme. Perform songs, skits, or recitations by or about famous American Jews, from Emma Lazarus to Steven Spielberg. Only serve kosher food. Since July Fourth eve this year is Friday night, add red and blue food coloring to two out of the three strands of the dough for your challah.
ù Read other holy documents. Rabbi Arthur Waskow recommends reading the Declaration of Independence instead of the traditional haftorah reading from prophets in synagogue on Shabbat of July 4.
ù Discuss loyalty and patriotism. For families with teenagers, the case of Jonathan Pollard - a civilian Navy analyst who in 1986 was convicted of spying for Israel and has been sentenced to life imprisonment - is a challenging question to consider on the Fourth of July. Is there a limit to our patriotism? What about recurrent changes of dual loyalty?
Finally, when you pack your holiday picnic, add wine, spices and a Havdalah candle. At nightfall, conduct the Havdalah (end-of-Sabbath) ceremony before the fireworks.
The miracle of Jewish life in America is that we are truly free to practice our religion without fear. Affirming that publicly for you and your children at least once a year, especially on July Fourth, helps us appreciate the historical blessing we live every day.
Yosef Abramowitz is publisher of www.JewishFamily.com. His latest book, Beyond Scandal: The Parents' Guide to Sex, Lies & Leadership, is available at www.JFLBooks.com.
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