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Dear Friends,
As Jews around the world begin the book of Exodus, and as we at
Tikvah prepare to launch our lecture series on Jewish statesmanship, I
thought I would share a few related lectures that show how the Exodus
story impacted some of the greatest non-Jewish statesman in the history
of the West.
On July 4th, 1776, a committee of Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin was
formed with the goal of selecting a seal for the nascent United States.
Two of these founding fathers chose images from the Exodus story as
embodiments of America. I discuss the implications of Franklin's and
Jefferson's suggestions in the second lecture, titled "America’s
Passover: Franklin, Jefferson, and the Seal of the United States," of my
Tikvah online course on Jewish Ideas and the American Founding.
A century and a half after the Founders looked to Exodus for
inspiration, Winston Churchill wrote a remarkable and little-known essay
titled "Moses: The Leader of the People."
In retrospect, this interpretation of the Moses story is instructive
considering the legacy of Churchill himself, the greatest statesman of
the twentieth century. I consider what Moses taught Churchill in the
third of my lectures on the Hebrew Bible, available here.
Several years ago, at a public event at Yeshiva University, I discussed
with the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, and with Senator Joseph Lieberman,
the impact that the Exodus story had on America and England in the past,
and how we as Jews should utilize its tale as Jews in largely
non-Jewish polities today. The full conversation can be seen here.
A reminder to please register for my upcoming Jewish statesmanship
series, which will begin in two weeks, on Monday, January 18, at 8 PM. I
am excited to take this journey through Jewish political history
together. You can register for it here.
Looking forward,
Meir Soloveichik
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