Many of you know that I grew up in St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in what is now the United States (for those keeping score, St. Augustine is 168 years older than Savannah). As a middle schooler, I vividly remember celebrating the Fourth of July at the Castillo de San Marcos, the stone fortress built in the late 1600s. My parents would comment on how special it was to celebrate America’s birthday in a place that predated our Republic by more than a century, in a town established long before George Washington was even born. We weren’t just learning history, we were living it.

This Independence Day, we have the opportunity to do the same. As our nation marks its 250th year, I know many people feel conflicted about celebrating. America can feel deeply divided, and the challenges we see in our politics and public discourse make it easy to feel discouraged, frustrated, or even fearful. Those feelings are real. But if you’ll indulge me in a bit of optimism, I’d like to offer a different perspective.

America remains a place that people around the world aspire to call home. We continue to enjoy freedoms of speech, religion, the press, and assembly that millions of people still long for. We are home to extraordinary innovation, world-leading universities, groundbreaking research, and companies that shape the global economy. While we are far from perfect, and we have never been perfect, we are a nation that has continually demonstrated an extraordinary capacity to grow, to improve, and to renew itself.

For the Jewish community, America has been an unprecedented blessing. Here in Savannah, Congregation Mickve Israel preserves letters from every president dating back to George Washington—a powerful reminder that Jewish life has been woven into the American story from the very beginning. In 1733, General James Oglethorpe defended the right of the Jewish passengers aboard the William and Sarah to settle in Savannah, helping establish a community that continues to thrive nearly three centuries later. Across our nation’s history, Jews have made lasting contributions in government, medicine, education, business, science, the arts, and countless other fields. 20% of sitting United States Senators are Jewish despites Jews making up less than 2% of the population. While antisemitism is real and demands our vigilance, the American Jewish experience remains one of remarkable opportunity, participation, and resilience.

The United States is the world’s oldest continuous constitutional democracy. That endurance is not an accident. It depends on generations of people choosing, again and again, to believe that our union is worth strengthening. The word United still matters, even when our union feels less perfect than we wish it to be.

So tomorrow, as we gather with friends and loved ones, may we celebrate both the freedoms we enjoy and the responsibilities they carry. May we recommit ourselves to building communities that are welcoming, compassionate, and hopeful. And may we continue writing the next chapter of the remarkable story of Jewish life in America. Wishing you and your family a safe, meaningful, and joyful Independence Day.

Shabbat Shalom,

Sam