HAPPY 250th BIRTHDAY TO AMERICA

The Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago on July 4, 1776.  It said;

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. 

The founding of America was then, a very novel idea in building a nation based on individual rights and freedom.  A nation founded on the idea that man is inherently (soul) good and given freedom could/would eventually live up to that good. A nation founded on the belief that all are created in the image of G-d.  That we are all children of G-d.  That given freedom, we could and would eventually have a country that lives up to and recognizes these “self-evident truths”.

Those who got freedom back then, were grateful.  Yet it was not something that they were familiar with and had no real experience with.  They were an imperfect people given the freedom and opportunity, based on the founding principles, to grow and become a more “perfect union”.  So began the journey in learning how to use their new freedom.

Declaring Independence made the principles and the dream dependent on each and every one of us to use our freedom for the good of all.

We were all created with free will.  The USA was created to be a nation that gave us the opportunity to express our free will.  With the freedom of free will, we can choose to elevate ourselves and become the person we were created to be.  To be the unique person, with a unique purpose, and mission for which we were each created.  A mission that contributes to the benefit of all.  A person who follows

“Love your fellow as yourself” (Leviticus 19;18).

“If I am not for myself, who will be for me. And if I am only for myself, of what good am I.” – Hillel, Ethics of fathers 1:14

Without these rights and freedom we could not pursue our dreams and our individual purpose.  When we each use that freedom to be who we are meant to be, to fulfill our unique purpose, America will be all that it’s meant to be and what it was founded for.  Without the freedom to fulfill our individual purpose, we will never get to a nation fully defined by it’s founding principles.

What could be more gratifying for each of us to know that we chose, because we could, to use that freedom to reach our ultimate potential as human beings.  Freedom comes with great responsibility.  Not to use that freedom to do anything you want, but rather to do what is needed of you, which is to do the good and right thing more and more, to accept a moral code.  To know that it came from you and not imposed on you.  To look around us and see that all are enjoying “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”  To be truly United.  It may take longer than we would like, but freedom is the only way to get there.

If there are faults in America, it is not the fault of America.  We are all still imperfect people.  Thankfully, we have many role models.

A young child asks his parents on a long trip, “Are we there yet?”.  The parent answers “no, not yet”.  On our journey, we must constantly ask ourselves, “Am I there yet?”. Each of us is a work in process that can lead to progress.  The closer you get, the closer we will be to the ideals that America was founded on.

In the 250 years of our independence, we have made much progress, and accomplished much good.  So let’s celebrate our freedom, how far we’ve come, and keep going forward.  Keep going forward until the answer becomes, “yes, I am there” and therefore “yes, we are there”.  Without freedom we will never get there!

One of the many of America’s accomplishments is very personal for me.  If it wasn’t for America, my Parents (OBM), would not have been Holocaust Survivors,who then came to America, and therefore I would not be!

To have the freedom to pursue and become our true selves, our giving selves is indeed something to be thankful for.

Our liberty should be celebrated everyday by using it for the good of all.

May we cherish, be grateful for, and protect those freedoms for many, many more years.

May we use our freedom to fulfill our greatest human potential.

HAPPY 4th of July   

G-d Bless America