Thinking about the blog today, I was drawn by two different ideas. Tomorrow is the fourth of July on the Gregorian calendar and the 17th of Tammuz on the Hebrew lunar calendar, both of which are significant dates for different reasons.
July fourth is Independence Day in the US, marking the adoption of the Declaration of the United States proclaiming all people equal with the rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. The 17th of Tammuz is a very different day. In history, a series of tragic events happened, most especially the breach of the walls of Jerusalem in 69 CE leading to the destruction of the Second Temple.
The stark contrast of joyful freedom with bitter destruction seems be an uncompromising struggle. But perhaps, although different, the fight for independence against the Romans that preceded the destruction was not entirely unlike America’s fight for independence from the British. It is certainly a day to ponder and think back on history. Ultimately, I think our strength comes, whether American or Jew, or Jewish American, or American Jew, because we fight for our beliefs.
