It's not surprising I had never heard of
href="http://headheeb.blogmosis.com/archives/015622.html">Arrival Day,
considering it's only just been invented. Now that I have heard of it, thanks
(predictably) to Baraita, it's not the sort of thing I can ignore.
We
Jews have long memories. It's not genetic, of course; it's ingrained by years of
Hebrew school teaching about ancient and modern persecutions, acts of heroism and
narrow escapes; in rituals that preserve tribal memories; in holiday celebrations
designed to make us feel that events of three thousand years ago happened to us,
personally -- and to remind us of their echoes in our times. But a four thousand
year history of victimhood alone would not be tenable; there would be nothing
worth preserving of the Jewish culture if we had done nothing but whine since the
time Jacob's older sons beat up on their youngest brother Joseph. So we remember
the points of light in the darkness. We celebrate the escape from Egypt and remind
ourselves not to act like the Egyptians when we are in their position of power. We
remember the heroic acts of the Danes in WWII and remind ourselves that there are
people willing to risk their lives to save others and that with all our history of
wandering, there have been times when we were welcomed and treated as
neighbors.
That's why, even though I am writing a day late, it's
worth celebrating the arrival of Jews in America and remembering that this is one
country in which a Jew is not necessarily considered a visitor but can be an
American, with all the freedoms and duties that entails. As such, it's also worth
remembering that we have a responsibility not just to follow the laws of the land,
as we would anywhere (it's part of the teachings of the Talmud, in fact) but to
work to hold the country to its ideals.
I couldn't watch all of
President Bush's speech last night; frankly, I was eating dinner and just couldn't
face him. But Rudder had the TV on and I did hear part of the speech where he
talked about perserving freedoms in and banishing terror from Iraq. I couldn't
help thinking at the time that we need to be even more vigilant in preserving
freedoms and banishing terror right here, in maintaining and protecting our rights
to read what we want, to think what we want, to love how we want. And those of us
with long memories owe it to our ancestors, whether they arrived on April 7, 1654,
or at the turn of the twentieth century as my own family did, to make sure that
new arrivals still are permitted to breathe free and to make new lives behind the
golden door, here in America, the Goldeneh Medineh.