Rav Avigdor Miller on His Attitude toward American Independence Day

4/7/2021

With the arrival of July 4th and American Independence Day, Jews would ask Rav Miller about celebrating the Fourth of July.

He wasn't into barbecues or bitul Torah, but he encouraged Jews to hang out a big American flag.

It can be confusing because on one hand, we are supposed to firmly entrench ourselves within our own Torah culture & value system, maintaining a healthy separation from anything not part of Judaism—no matter how appealing.

On the other hand, we also need to appreciate the great gifts Hashem has given us.

American Jews have been allowed to flourish in America.

Torah communities & yeshivot have flourished in America.

Even with the Jew-hatred that exits (and has recently increased), it's still not comparable to the Jew-hatred that existed as both the cultural & institutionalized norm in other societies throughout history.

Here's a snippet of what Rav Miller said:

Today, when so many meshugaim are trying to desecrate the American flag, and when the wicked courts and the wicked Supreme Court have sanctioned the desecration of the flag by ruling that burning the flag is not a crime anymore, so we have to show that we appreciate Hashem’s gift to us.

America is a great gift and I say that every Jew today should hang out a flag on the 4th of July.

Even if it’s just li’hachis, just to show the liberals, to show the resha’im that we do appreciate America!

***

You have to know that the liberals and the leftists are ruining America.

They are wicked people and wickedness has no calculations.

They do things only because of wickedness, and therefore we should do the opposite.

They want to destroy the moral fabric of America and the least we can do is show that we appreciate the great gift of America.

I say that we should hang out the flag; no question about it.

TAPE #792 (1990)

And this:

After all, America is a good country.

We came from countries where we were persecuted, and this country gave us all the rights. I would say we should kiss the ground of America.

I was in Europe for some time; I went to study in the yeshiva in Slobodka.

And when came back, I saw even more that this was a blessed country; it’s a gift from Hashem to us.

Tape #833, July 1991

And this:

The American flag is a sign of decency and compassion. That’s what it is.

Of course, it’s only a symbol, but it’s a symbol of what Hakodosh Boruch Hu is doing to us.

America is a great gift to us from Hakodosh Boruch Hu.

And therefore it’s not America that we have to love; we have to love Hashem who gave us America!

And if Hakodosh Boruch Hu gives you Australia, then you have to love Hakodosh Boruch Hu who is giving you Australia.

***

And so all of us should be grateful to America.

But it’s not America – it’s Hashem who gave the gift to us.

So let’s try to maintain that gift and make sure that the liberals don’t ruin it.

TAPE # 701 (July 1988)

Here are more scintillating comments by Rav Miller on the topic:

https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-the-fourth-of-july/ (1991)
https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-burning-the-american-flag/ (1990)
https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-burning-the-american-flag/(1990)
https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-gratitude-for-america/
https://torasavigdor.org/rav-avigdor-miller-on-patriotism/ (1970)

6 Comments

elisheva

4/7/2021 20:50:05

I strongly recommend that you read "Faith after the Holocaust" by Rav Eliezer Berkovitz zatzal and Em Habanim Smeicha by Rav Teichtal HYD (murdered in the Shoah) who bitterly bemoaned the fact that Jews poured their energies into building up the exile, buildings, businesses etc instead of Eretz Yisrael.

Apart from the most important fact that Hashem tells us time and time again in the Torah that Jews are supposed to dwell alone as a nation, not just individuals, families and communities, in Eretz Yisrael, every major centre of exile ends in tears. And America is no exception, before our very eyes.

At the time of the Pittsburg massacre, I wrote that it was a turning point for American Jews, falling as it did on the anniversary of Kristallnacht and that American Jews should start planning their collective aliya immediately. I asked what would you do if suddenly there were no flights, mobs in the streets and no police willling to come to your assistance? That was in 2018, and here we are in 2021 with all that has transpired since then. Also, Jonathon Pollard has since miraculously returned to Eretz Yisrael, and with him the Shechina. (Rav Mordechai Eliyau zatzal said that the Shechina was with Jonathon in exile.)

The American exile is over and the Jews there are in great danger. This isn't a time for flag-waving but packing up. #nojewleftbehind

Myrtle Rising

4/7/2021 21:26:38

I think there has been a misunderstanding about "flag-waving."

In the links within the post, Rav Miller states he used to not care about a flag.

Only when America started turning radically liberal did Rav Miller encourage hanging out a flag as part of the fight anti-Torah liberalism in America.

He talks about showing gratitude to Hashem, not flag-waving or conventional patriotism.

Also, people can hang out a flag and continue the aliyah process at the same time. Zeh lo soter. If one has Hashem in mind, it's good to do both.

We should always seek to remain separate from any anti-Torah society with our Torah values wherever we are, including little acts like this.

elisheva

4/7/2021 22:28:21

I understood the post, but there was not one mention of Israel in it, not one. The problem isn't a lack of gratitude but misplaced priorities. I grew up in chul, when it was fun to be there, enjoyed great benefits, free education etc, much better than the US, and I am truly grateful for that, but chul wasn't my priority. The point is that the vast majority of Jews in the US are not interested in making aliya, nor is it encouraged by the vast majority of their leaders, and often actively discouraged. I hear time and again that speakers from Israel are told not to talk about aliya. Someone even had the nerve to say this to Rav Mordechai Eliyahu zatzal. Can you imagine telling Rishon LeTsion what is acceptable to talk about? (He did anyway.) That is how bad the situation is. (The UK is the same, the Jews there practically benched gomel in 2019 when Labour didn't win the elections and they weren't Gd forbid forced into making aliya.) They aren't hanging out their flags on the way to the airport, they are doing so with the intention of staying put. There are some exceptions, shlichut and Jews who would be on the next plane out if only they could, but they are the minority.

American Jews should be planning and coordinating an emergency mass aliya of all Jews. This might sound alarmist, but the situation is dire. What was normal is over. If you understand Hebrew, I'm sorry I don't remember, listen to Rav Zisolholtz and Rav Yaakov Maor on youtube, they are begging, begging Jews to come to Israel urgently.

We can't force them but at least it should be possible for every Jew who wishes to come to do so and not be constrained by financial reasons. The Jewish world as a whole is awash with money, it only takes a few billionaires. The problem is a lack of ratzon and a lack of leadership.

Myrtle Rising

5/7/2021 10:38:28

Historically, if you read Chazal, Jew-hatred is always a wake-up call for us to deepen our avodat Hashem.

It's about us getting real & more authentic as Torah Jews.

If you really think that Jews need to live in Eretz Yisrael (and, because this Land tends to vomit out her inhabitants, I do not think everyone should unless they are firmly committed to keeping Torah & mitzvot), then you should try to strengthen your fellow Jews from the inside-out—which I've seen you do when you talk about teshuvah, like everything you wrote here:
http://www.myrtlerising.com/blog/crushes-collapses-baby-teshuvah-and-an-update-on-cholim

That was genuinely helpful chizuk.

(Also, there are some people who can't come to Eretz Yisrael for various legitimate reasons.)
__________________________

I don't believe that British Jewry "practically benched gomel in 2019 when Labour didn't win the elections and they weren't Gd forbid forced into making aliya."

Anyway, even if Labour had won, that would've been a sign to do teshuvah (as all Jew-hatred is) and not ONLY come to Eretz Yisrael (where Leftists have been in power since the beginning of the State).
_________________________

There doesn't need to be any mention of Eretz Yisrael in this post or Rav Miller's talks on the topic of American Independence Day. He didn't mention Shabbat either, which is a fundamental. Or kashrut.

Why?

Because he was speaking about gratitude to Hashem & distancing ourselves from anti-Torah influences in general, without getting specific.
_______________________

Clearly, it's a chutzpah & foolishness to tell Rav Mordechai Eliyahu what to say or not say.

And people always do this.

They did this to Rav Miller too, and they do it now to Rav Itamar Schwartz.

(And like Rav Eliyahu, neither obeyed.)
_______________________

When Rav Itamar Schwartz talks to the American communities, he doesn't just push Eretz Yisrael. He talks in general about coming closer to Hashem, about getting in touch with the soul root, and detaching from materialism.

(Having said that, not all frum American Jews are materialistic. Some are really struggling & stuck financially.)

In general, he urges people to come to Eretz Yisrael (for spiritual reasons, not nationalist reasons). But he does it while encouraging spiritual improvement—like increasing emunah & bitachon—because it all goes together.

Leah

5/7/2021 00:25:34

Yasher koach Myrtle...

Myrtle Rising

5/7/2021 09:59:31

Thanks, Leah.

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Rav Avigdor Miller on His Attitude toward American Independence Day

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