Last month, on the morning of July 4th, over twenty of us gathered on our congregational property and raised the American flag for the first time.That flag, on loan from one of our members, has flown over the capital in Washington, D.C. It was a moment in the life of this congregation I have been looking forward to for a long time. Many of our members have focused on helping us grow, others on acquiring land for the dream of our own school and sanctuary and mission, and others have dedicated themselves to raising the money to make these dreams a reality. I have been involved in all of these efforts, including the one that culminated this morning.

    That flag flying over our home on Alvernon represents part of my family’s history. We have been in this country, grown and prospered for almost 200 years. America has provided my family with opportunities and we have served this country in the military, in the State Department, and in the White House for two centuries.

    On the Fourth of July, we celebrate the values of a treasonous band of men and women that transcend time. Their values are expressed in the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence: “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.” This is a dream, and in every generation, we must dedicate ourselves to its truth.

    Our faith, our Judaism, supplies us with the moral and spiritual elements to be a part of that truth and dream. We hope for ourselves and our children to create here a Jewish life completely integrated into a progressive and dynamic American life.

    Loyalty to American ideals does not call for the suppression of the Jew’s desire to retain the individuality of his or her Jewish life. We can express our religious beliefs in our rituals and our prayers and, at the same time, be seen as Americans, not as a separate nation. American cultural life is different because of what Jews have added to it, just as the nation itself has changed Judaism and American Jews for the better.

    Until the nineteenth century, the Jewish contribution to American culture was neither excellent nor influential. Immigration from Germany in the mid-nineteenth century dwarfed the sparse Sephardic community whose ancestors had come during the Colonial period. There would have been little Jewish continuity or influence had immigration from Eastern Europe not superseded the German Jews during the late-nineteenth century.

    These Jews were welcomed to America with a new American consciousness expressed so eloquently by one of their own, Emma Lazaraus (1849-1887). “The New Colossus” (1883) remains the most famous American Jewish poem.

         Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
         With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
         Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
         A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
         Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.
         From her beacon-hand
         Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
         The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
         “Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
         With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
         Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
         The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
         Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
         I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

   The Republic of the United States grants everyone equality. That equality also validates the right to be different. Philosopher Horace Kallen (1882-1974), son of an immigrant rabbi, stated it in terms of an orchestra, “Each ethnic group may be the natural instrument,” contributing to the overall harmony and balance of the symphony. Each instrument realizes itself most fully in the society than it can by “segregation and isolation.”

   The Pittsburgh Platform of 1885, the basic statement of Reform Judaism until 1935, defined Jews as a purely religious community and explicitly rejected the idea that they constituted a nation. Nineteenth-century Reform Judaism professed an almost religious love for the United States as the promised land.

   The mission of the American Jewish War Veterans reflects this ideal of not feeling separate or apart:

          “We, citizens of the United States of America, of the Jewish faith, who served in the Wars of the United States of America, in order that we may be of greater service to our country and to one another, associate ourselves together for the following purposes:
         To maintain true allegiance to the United States of America; to foster and perpetuate true Americanism … and to foster the education of ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen, and our members in the ideals and principles of Americanism; to instill love of country and flag, and to promote sound minds and bodies in our members and our youth; to preserve the memories and records of patriotic service performed by the men and women of our faith; to honor their memory and shield from neglect the graves of our heroic dead.”

    My friends, the flag we raised on Independence Day represents our “love of country and flag.” It represents our shared vision and hope. We all gather here as Americans dedicated to the principles of our faith and the heritage passed down to us in 1776. It is not “either–or.” It is not being Jewish sometimes and acting as an American at other times. You are Americans at every moment. You are Jews at every moment (or you admire the Jewish values that are an expression of your will). You are human beings dedicated to the understanding that doors are open in this country for you to receive wonderful opportunities to be successful. At the same time and more important than your personal victories and successes is that this land, this country, has provided you an opportunity to enrich opportunities for others.

    “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.” As Americans, let us look to our Constitution and to our religious teachings and stand up for the rights of others. Let us enrich this land that has given us opportunity by sharing with others.

    Amen.

   Rabbi Thomas Louchheim