Did you know that December 28th is Pledge of Allegiance Day? Did you know there was such a thing? Well, neither did I, but I'm glad there is. That's because, as adults, we don't get much opportunity to think about — let alone recite — the Pledge, do we?

We get to sing the national anthem at major happenings like sporting events and presidential debates (which may be said to have other things in common as well, but that's another story.) But when do we get to recite the Pledge?
When we were children, we recited it every morning in school. We didn't necessarily contemplate it, but it was a sacred ritual. We didn't necessarily understand all the words, but we knew it by heart. We might even have been certain, until the fifth grade, that it said " one nation, invisible…", but it didn't matter. What we knew, maybe from our parents, maybe from our teachers, maybe just from breathing the air, was that it was a privilege to live in the United States, and that pledging allegiance was something we were proud to do.
In the neighborhood where I spent my young childhood, most of the kids had similar backgrounds. Our parents were first generation Americans, our fathers had fought in the War, and almost none of the grandparents spoke English. They spoke either Yiddish or Italian. I remember there was one Presbyterian family on our block. The grandparents spoke English; I couldn't wrap my mind around the concept. To me all grandparents came over in steerage from places they didn't want to talk about, so their children and grandchildren could walk down the street without fear, could be assured of enough to eat, could call themselves American.
My husband had a very different background. His parents were Holocaust survivors and he was born in South America. When his mother went into labor with him, she walked to the hospital with her hands in the air so the soldiers wouldn't shoot her; there was a revolution going on and she was breaking curfew. My husband came here when he was eleven and became a citizen at sixteen. His appreciation for the flag of the United States is visceral, because he knows all too well what its absence can mean.
Pledge of Allegiance Day is not a federal holiday. The banks won't be closed, nor will the post office. There won't be fireworks and barbecues, nor many turkey dinners with all the trimmings. But we do have an American flag flying next to our front door, and I will just stand there on December 28th with my hand on my heart, and quietly recite the pledge. And that will be enough.

We get to sing the national anthem at major happenings like sporting events and presidential debates (which may be said to have other things in common as well, but that's another story.) But when do we get to recite the Pledge?
When we were children, we recited it every morning in school. We didn't necessarily contemplate it, but it was a sacred ritual. We didn't necessarily understand all the words, but we knew it by heart. We might even have been certain, until the fifth grade, that it said " one nation, invisible…", but it didn't matter. What we knew, maybe from our parents, maybe from our teachers, maybe just from breathing the air, was that it was a privilege to live in the United States, and that pledging allegiance was something we were proud to do.
In the neighborhood where I spent my young childhood, most of the kids had similar backgrounds. Our parents were first generation Americans, our fathers had fought in the War, and almost none of the grandparents spoke English. They spoke either Yiddish or Italian. I remember there was one Presbyterian family on our block. The grandparents spoke English; I couldn't wrap my mind around the concept. To me all grandparents came over in steerage from places they didn't want to talk about, so their children and grandchildren could walk down the street without fear, could be assured of enough to eat, could call themselves American.
My husband had a very different background. His parents were Holocaust survivors and he was born in South America. When his mother went into labor with him, she walked to the hospital with her hands in the air so the soldiers wouldn't shoot her; there was a revolution going on and she was breaking curfew. My husband came here when he was eleven and became a citizen at sixteen. His appreciation for the flag of the United States is visceral, because he knows all too well what its absence can mean.
Pledge of Allegiance Day is not a federal holiday. The banks won't be closed, nor will the post office. There won't be fireworks and barbecues, nor many turkey dinners with all the trimmings. But we do have an American flag flying next to our front door, and I will just stand there on December 28th with my hand on my heart, and quietly recite the pledge. And that will be enough.

Independence Day is the birthday of our country, the day the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The first one to sign the Declaration was John Hancock, in a script said to be large enough that the British King George III could read it without his spectacles.

Thomas Jefferson wrote most of the Declaration of Independence and every American schoolchild learns its immortal words. Even as adults, we cannot forget. Its second sentence might be called the cornerstone on which out country was built:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

But in all the July 4th hoopla, from the parades and fireworks, the sales and the firing up of the barbeques, how often do we take time to think about what these words actually mean? The phrase, “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” is repeated so often that it is very easy, especially for those of us born to the privilege of U.S. citizenship, to take those three tenets for granted. So July 4th seems to me a very good time to remember that in many strife-ridden parts of the world today, “Life” is precarious, that advocating for “Liberty” can land you in jail, and that the “pursuit of Happiness” is a near-inconceivable luxury.

And what of the words “self-evident”? It turns out that Jefferson originally wrote: “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable…” It was Benjamin Franklin who changed the beginning of that extraordinary sentence to: “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” Self-evident means requiring no proof; it indicates something obvious that does not need explanation. But though it may be obvious to us today, I believe we would do well to remember that this was a radical notion in 1776. Despite the Magna Carta (1215) and the Glorious Revolution (1688-89), which limited the absolute power of the monarchy, despite the existence of a Parliament, Great Britain was still very much under the thumb of King George III. All of Europe was yoked under an unyielding class system, from its royalty and privileged aristocracy to its peasants and servants with little hope of ever changing their “station” in life. The idea that we are “created equal” and given “unalienable Rights” by our Creator, not by the whims of a king, was indeed revolutionary.

The Declaration and the War of Independence were not just political. They represented a radical shift in human consciousness that gave rise to an entirely new concept: a self-governing nation in which one’s effort and merit, not one’s birth, would determine one’s destiny; a nation in which the value of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” would be core, tangible values; a nation built on freedom, not fear, and on the dignity of every individual. This is what we are celebrating on July 4th.

The first one to sign the Declaration was John Hancock, in a script said to be large enough that the British King George III could read it without his spectacles.

Thomas Jefferson wrote most of the Declaration of Independence and every American schoolchild learns its immortal words. Even as adults, we cannot forget. Its second sentence might be called the cornerstone on which out country was built:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

But in all the July 4th hoopla, from the parades and fireworks, the sales and the firing up of the barbeques, how often do we take time to think about what these words actually mean? The phrase, “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” is repeated so often that it is very easy, especially for those of us born to the privilege of U.S. citizenship, to take those three tenets for granted. So July 4th seems to me a very good time to remember that in many strife-ridden parts of the world today, “Life” is precarious, that advocating for “Liberty” can land you in jail, and that the “pursuit of Happiness” is a near-inconceivable luxury.

And what of the words “self-evident”? It turns out that Jefferson originally wrote: “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable…” It was Benjamin Franklin who changed the beginning of that extraordinary sentence to: “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” Self-evident means requiring no proof; it indicates something obvious that does not need explanation. But though it may be obvious to us today, I believe we would do well to remember that this was a radical notion in 1776. Despite the Magna Carta (1215) and the Glorious Revolution (1688-89), which limited the absolute power of the monarchy, despite the existence of a Parliament, Great Britain was still very much under the thumb of King George III. All of Europe was yoked under an unyielding class system, from its royalty and privileged aristocracy to its peasants and servants with little hope of ever changing their “station” in life. The idea that we are “created equal” and given “unalienable Rights” by our Creator, not by the whims of a king, was indeed revolutionary.

The Declaration and the War of Independence were not just political. They represented a radical shift in human consciousness that gave rise to an entirely new concept: a self-governing nation in which one’s effort and merit, not one’s birth, would determine one’s destiny; a nation in which the value of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” would be core, tangible values; a nation built on freedom, not fear, and on the dignity of every individual. This is what we are celebrating on July 4th.

A day that is observed worldwide but only celebrated here. Let the festivities begin! I did a little fact-finding mission gathering a handful of “did you knows” just in time for your ultimate 4th of July birthday celebration. Enjoy!

- The idea of fireworks (illuminations) to celebrate Independence Day came from John Adams. He wrote to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776, one day before the adoption of the Declaration, that “it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as they great anniversary festival. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.” In fact, concerts, bonfires, parades and the firing of canons took place along with early readings of the Declaration of Independence, long before the Revolutionary War was won in 1789.
- The first Independence Day celebration took place in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777, with parades fireworks, and thirteen-gun salutes in honor of each state.
- John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, our second and third presidents, both died on the 50th Anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence: July 4, 1826.
- In 1778 General George Washington issued a double ration of rum to his soldiers on July 4th and further celebrated with an artillery salute.
- In 1781 Massachusetts became the first state to recognize July 4th as a state celebration.
- In 1870, Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. It became a paid federal holiday in 1938.

- The idea of fireworks (illuminations) to celebrate Independence Day came from John Adams. He wrote to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776, one day before the adoption of the Declaration, that “it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as they great anniversary festival. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.” In fact, concerts, bonfires, parades and the firing of canons took place along with early readings of the Declaration of Independence, long before the Revolutionary War was won in 1789.
- The first Independence Day celebration took place in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777, with parades fireworks, and thirteen-gun salutes in honor of each state.
- John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, our second and third presidents, both died on the 50th Anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence: July 4, 1826.
- In 1778 General George Washington issued a double ration of rum to his soldiers on July 4th and further celebrated with an artillery salute.
- In 1781 Massachusetts became the first state to recognize July 4th as a state celebration.
- In 1870, Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. It became a paid federal holiday in 1938.

When I think of Jewish American Heritage month, the first thing that comes to mind is how wonderful it is to live in a country where we as Jews, and people of all faiths, can practice – or not practice – religion in any way we see fit.

One of my dearest friends – a rabbi’s wife – once asked me why I thought it was the case that whenever they had a dedication for a new Torah scroll, so many more Iranian and Russian Jews came than American Jews. I answered with the first thing that came into my head: The Iranians and the Russians do not take for granted what we as Americans unfortunately do – that you can have a procession carrying a Torah scroll in public, that the police will block traffic from the street and stand as security. They will not gun you down or herd you into the synagogue and lock the doors and set it on fire.
My mother-in-law, may she rest in peace, passed away in 2011 at the age of 99. She was a Holocaust survivor. Those kinds of things were not foreign or ancient history to her. They were the reality she barely escaped.
My father, a World War II veteran, celebrates his 93rd birthday this month. He and my mother were Depression babies, the children of Ellis Island immigrants. He used to look at his four children and smile at my mother and say, “It’s their America.”
Yes it is. This great country belongs to all of us, as Americans, whatever our creed or background. When I think of my Jewish American heritage, I am filled with gratitude. What a blessing to live in this place, in this time!

One of my dearest friends – a rabbi’s wife – once asked me why I thought it was the case that whenever they had a dedication for a new Torah scroll, so many more Iranian and Russian Jews came than American Jews. I answered with the first thing that came into my head: The Iranians and the Russians do not take for granted what we as Americans unfortunately do – that you can have a procession carrying a Torah scroll in public, that the police will block traffic from the street and stand as security. They will not gun you down or herd you into the synagogue and lock the doors and set it on fire.
My mother-in-law, may she rest in peace, passed away in 2011 at the age of 99. She was a Holocaust survivor. Those kinds of things were not foreign or ancient history to her. They were the reality she barely escaped.
My father, a World War II veteran, celebrates his 93rd birthday this month. He and my mother were Depression babies, the children of Ellis Island immigrants. He used to look at his four children and smile at my mother and say, “It’s their America.”
Yes it is. This great country belongs to all of us, as Americans, whatever our creed or background. When I think of my Jewish American heritage, I am filled with gratitude. What a blessing to live in this place, in this time!