Did you know that from 1907-1914, hundreds, if not thousands of Jews came to the United States from Eastern Europe not through Ellis Island, but through Galveston? The part of Galveston was used to help Jews, who were fleeing from miserable conditions in Eastern Europe, to enter relatively less crowded regions of the United States. A story is told of the ports opening: “The First refugees - fifty-four men and two women, arrived on the steamship Cassel in early July 1907. Two days before the ship docked, a warehouse remodeled as a reception center burned down, raising questions about the welcome likely to be offered the newcomers. Mayor Henry Landes, however spoke to the immigrants; a schoolteacher from Southern Russia answered with a grateful speech on behalf of the group. Rabbi Henry Cohen of Temple B'nai Israel met almost all the ships that carried Jewish immigrants and helped them to new homes in the interior.” (Handbook of Texas Online)
What a welcome! Texans, always open armed with a big smile, did not let these immigrants down, and they helped shape many of the smaller towns in Texas and the South. I've learned in my time in Texas that Texas pride is only equaled by Jewish Texas pride!
This is a milestone year, deserving of our attention. For 350 years Jews have settled in America, and have become involved in all aspects of our country, helping shape and determine its path from the beginning. To look at American Jewish history is to look also at the ripening of the United States, and to celebrate our legacy.
In 1654, 23 Jews disembarked on a new territory, then known as New Amsterdam, eager to begin their new lives in America. However, Governor Peter Stuyvesant was not so welcoming, and immediately tried to remove them from the colony.
Luckily, he was not successful. 350 years later, we celebrate the anniversary of Jews in America.
Many flocked to America for economic and religious freedom. Moses Sexias wrote a letter to President George Washington, asking him about freedom of religion, and civil liberty, in the United States. The President replied:
“The citizens of the Unites States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy; a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent national gifts. For happily the government of the United States, which give bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.” (Torah at The Center, Vol. 7, #1, Fall 2003)
This religious freedom, and civil liberty, which George Washington so carefully spelled out in his letter, has been a beacon for Jews-from the 17th century to today. From this freedom we have developed a unique American Jewish identity.
Early American Jews created the first synagogues, religious schools, cemeteries, and aide foundations, worked to “become American”, learning English and embracing education. Due to their dedication, American Jews have much to be proud of.
Let me focus for a few moments on an ideal that not only shaped American Jewish identity, but changed the face of America as well: social action. Emphasized by the founders of Reform who wrote in 1824 in Charleston, S.C.: “good faith towards all mankind is the most acceptable offering to the Deity” (Torah at The Center, Vol. 7, #1, Fall 2003), and which was continued with the Pittsburgh Platform of 1885-the first official platform of the Reform Movement, which wrote that American Jews were responsible for helping to solve “on the basis of justice and righteousness the problems presented by the contrasts and evils of the present organization of society.” Reform Judaism has, clearly, a long history of social justice, and nowhere was this more crystallized in history than in the civil rights movement, when busloads of Jews marched with Martin Luther King and others in affirmation of equality of all people.
In 1961 the Reform Movement urged its members to become involved in Freedom Rides, which were started to integrate buses and bus stops in the South. It was estimated, in an article by Debra Nussbaum Cohen, of the JTA,( Jewish Telegraphic Association) that up to two-thirds of the riders were Jewish!
In 1963 Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel began their famed relationship, with King often referring to Heschel as “my Rabbi”. Many of the famous photographs of King marching were with this famous Rabbi.
Social action was, and is, a vital element of American Judaism, and is especially particular to Reform Judaism, shown well by the level of involvement by Jews in the black civil rights movement.
Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin wrote in 1989, “Some time ago, an observer of American Jewry noted that each of the three major religious movements had contributed important institutions to the American Jewish Community. Reform Judaism's is most significant gifts to American Judaism were twofold: social action and the Youth Movement, known as NFTY.” (Journal of Reform Judaism, Fall 1989, p 17)
Due to NFTY, (North American Federation of Temple Youth) which began in 1939, and the now 14 camps operated by the Union for Reform Judaism, Jewish identity and creativity remain strong. Youth of yesterday still correspond with or are married to their old camp buddies! Many are Temple officers, or Religious School teachers. The youth of today enter a non-Jewish world proud and strong, buoyed by Temple youth groups, regional youth groups, summers at camp, and Israel.
In 64 years, approximately 50,000 Jews have become, as we like to call it, “products of the movement.” What an amazing gift: even as it creates intense Jewish pride, it also spurs creativity and dynamism, a source of deep pride for the Reform Movement.
Our youth are proud of their heritage, and through learning this history, perhaps we, too, will become pleased of this achievement.
These brief facts I've shared with you-about Galveston, President Washington-and our ideals-social action and the youth movement-are important legacies, which we must continue to learn about. Connecting with our accounting as American Jews is an important task. Teaching and learning about our history, writes Jonathan D. Sarna, historian and professor at Brandeis University, “helps deepen attachments to Judaism and the Jewish people, because it is a form of collective Jewish memory, and as such a vital part of Jewish identity.” It also, as Sarna writes, “contextualizes contemporary challenges facing American Jews.” (Torah at The Center, Vol. 7, No. 1, Fall 2003, p.2-3)
We have much to be excited about as we look back over the last 350 years. But as we connect with our past, we also, as Sarna wrote, must assess the present. What are the challenges facing us as American Jews? As Reform Jews?
I am not a historian, or an analyst. I can only offer my opinion, and invite us each to enter into a dialogue.
Our challenge is age old: assimilation. My commentary is as old as our ancient sages: We are contemporary Jews, fully integrated into society. Yet, are we becoming too integrated? Are we intimidated by a religion that is ours, and yet for which we do not even have the most basic vocabulary? Do we so flippantly joke about working and going to school on holidays that we do not realize its grave consequences? Do we shirk our duties as Jews when we cannot answer basic theological and philosophical questions our friends and family ask?
We are contemporary Jews. We have struggled, as Americans, to define an American Judaism. Let us embrace what our forefathers and foremothers have fought for. Religious freedom is not freedom from religion; but rather the freedom to practice our faith and grapple with it; to explore our legacy and enrich it. Let us not forsake it.
Our blessing is diversity: the changing face of Judaism. As we struggled to fit in, to “become American' in generations past, we now celebrate that achievement. As the faces of America changes, we change too. We have opened our doors, and we are black Jews, Asian Jews, Hispanic Jews. . . we are blonde, blue eyed Jews… we are gay Jews, single Jews, single Jewish parents-of perhaps ethnically diverse children. Our challenge, of course, is to remain open and welcoming, to wrap our arms around our ever expanding diverse family.
It's interesting: the phrase that I heard so often as a child, “funny, you don't look Jewish.” is understood differently. As a child, I heard it almost as a slur. Now, I believe it is a compliment, a positive commentary on the changing, inclusive, diverse face of American Judaism.
And there is another implication behind the diversity: we are no longer hiding our identity; and the trepidations of the past no longer hold merit. Rather, we are confident and strong in our identity.
Assimilation and Diversity-these are only an overview of what I see are the challenges of the next generations. We must learn from our past to help us embrace our future. As we celebrate this year our 350th anniversary of settling in the United States, let us be spurred forward to learn our history. Let us engage in conversation of our challenges and our blessings, setting us up for the success of the next 350 years.
E-mail Rabbi Bergman Vann
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