Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

A quick shout-out to last week’s Fourth of July observance. It was good to spend some time with family and friends, yet it seemed particularly lackluster this year. A guess that the issue is something to the effect of, what are we celebrating? Notwithstanding that we seem to have lost the meaning of the day for many years now, this July Fourth seemed different — a malaise of sorts, a certain hopelessness about the state of our country.

This quick shout-out is the simple reminder that our Fourth of July, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution we honor and celebrate are not about who we presently are; rather, they express who we desire to be. Much like our Torah, they must be studied to derive meaning that will lead us to be our best selves. The documents are living documents when we give them life and purpose, a notion that presently seems lost.

Our obligation to live according to the highest, most compassionate ideals articulated in our country’s founding documents is something we must fight for now more than ever. We fight with the hope for next year, to celebrate a Fourth where we have transformed hope into reality.