What Was Supposed to Be a Day of Freedom Became a Day of Slavery | The Three Weeks (An Independence Day Message)

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It was supposed to be a day of freedom, a day of independence, but instead became a day of slavery. I'm not talking about July 4th. I'm not talking about the American Independence Day. I'm talking about the day when Moshura Binu, Moses, came down the mountain on the 17th of Tamuz, Shiva Asserba Tamuz, and broke the Luchos. He broke the tablets. Why? Because the Jewish people were committing a sin. The Egel Azov, the golden calf, they were dancing around. The egel, they were serving an idol, they were committing idolatry, they were subservient now to an intermediary between them and God instead of serving God directly. And this was a grave sin. This happened on the 17th day of Tamuz. Quite ironically, and perhaps not coincidentally, July 4th, 1776, 250 years ago, when America became independent. That Hebrew corresponding date was none other than the 17th day of Tamuz. Tough Kuflam and Vlov, the year 5536. The 17th day of Tamuz marks the beginning of the three weeks, the three-week period of mourning of the Jewish people, which began on that day. Again, it was supposed to be a day of independence, a day of freedom. Why is that? The Torah refers to the Luchos, the tablets, as churos, as engraved. And the Mishnah and Pirky Avos and Ethics of the Fathers teaches us Al Tikre Choros ella cheros. Don't read it as choros meaning etched, rather, read it as chairus meaning independence, meaning freedom. The point of the Torah is to give us a sense of freedom. We, the Jewish people, left Egypt. We were in servitude to Pharaoh and the Egyptians on the 49th level of impurity, but we left that. God gave us the Torah in order to become free. Free from being stuck in this world, free to connect to God, free to take the mentality of this world, to take the physicality and uplift it for a spiritual cause, for a spiritual purpose. And the lujos were a symbol of that. The lujos were a symbol of churos, of not something that was just etched by God, but a lesson for us, something that represented cherus, something that represented independence, something that represented freedom. But instead of choosing God, what happened on that day? We chose an intermediary. We chose to be distant. And therefore that day, the 17th day of Tamuz marked not a day of independence, not a day of freedom, but a day of slavery where we were stuck. And it's ironic because the day, July 4th, 1776, was the 17th day of Tamuz. And perhaps it gives us a lesson in terms of re-embracing independence, reconnecting to the Torah, reconnecting to what those Lukos had to offer us, finding the shards that have been strewn all around, the broken tablets. Our job is to find those, find those pieces, find those elements of light, find the elements of meaning, goodness, moments of kindness, charity, thoughtfulness, and to bring them back to where they're supposed to be, to come back to our mission, to return to our calling, to be the best that we can possibly be. You know, I want to share with you something. 1776 was the year that America was founded, a year of American independence. I made a discovery. There's only one verse in the entire Torah that has the numerical value of 1776. You don't have to look too far, it's in Genesis Baratius, the fourth verse of the Torah. The Torah says, the light, that it was good. And God separated between the light and the darkness. America is filled with light and darkness. As it relates to the Jewish people. On one hand, America Amreka, a land of emptiness, there's a tremendous amount of impurity. Western culture, so many Jewish people have been lost, more so even than the Holocaust, so many have assimilated. On the other hand, America is a Medina Shal Chesed, it's a golden medina. It's a place that in 2,000 plus years of diaspora, we have not found a better home for the Jewish people. There's not been more of a Torah growth and spiritual vastness that has been allowed. So yes, there's Choshech, there's darkness, and there's aur and there's light. But perhaps the focus of that verse is Bayar Elohimis R Kitov. There's an element of goodness. The Chabad Rebbe, the sixth Chabad Rebbe, the Friedika Rebbe, Ravyosev Yitzhak Schnerson, when he came to America in 1940, he said something amazing. You know, he was a man who was partly responsible for Orthodox Jewry in the Soviet Union. He was trying to maintain it, and eventually he had to leave to Latvia, to Poland, eventually he made his way for the last 10 years of his life to America. And he said something interesting. He said, America is Nit Andrish. America is no different. And what he meant by that was, you know, the Jewish people were nervous. People would think that people in America would fall. Literally, people thought that those in America should fall. What does that mean, fall? The astronomers had this question a couple hundred years ago. And that is, why were those people on the opposite side of the world in the Chatzi Khandor Hatahton, in the bottom half of the sphere of Earth? How come they don't fall? And it specifically gives the example of America. This is brought down in the Ha Yom Yom, the Daily Regiment learning of Chabad. Look up in day number 14, 14th of Tamuz. And they ask this question, right? How come those in America don't fall down if they're on the bottom side of the globe? They should just fall to their demise. And the answer that the Balatanya says is it's there's a truer reality than just gravity. Gravity might be part of it, but there's something deeper, there's something more real, and that is there's this spiritual energy, this state called igulin circles. And the world is that. Earth is a sphere, it's spherical in shape, and a circle has no top and it has no bottom. And then for us, meaning the astronomers who were in the civilized part of the world in Europe at that time, they were on the on the top side of the globe, and for them, the sky was above them and they were not falling down. And the same reality was true for those in America. For them, the sky was straight above them and they would not fall down because in a circle, there is no up and there is no down. It's all relative and it's all really the same. And this concept that those in America would not fall is true not just physically, but spiritually. There's a spiritual message of those in America, don't fall. Stand up straight, be tall, be proud. And the Rebbe of Chabad would teach America is Nit Andrish. America is not different. We in Europe can serve Hashem, and we in America can serve Hashem. There's a mission to serve God wherever we are. The tablets that were strewn, that were broken, our job is to pick up those pieces wherever we are. There are sparks of holiness that are that are hidden in all places around the world. And there is a specific treasure in America of spiritual identity, to be able to transform that which was here in America and to turn it and to elevate it and to become something, and especially to be proud. And not to hide the yarmulk, not to hide the tutis, not to hide one's Jewishness, but to embrace it, to be proud of it, and to be real with it, to be genuine with it. America is Nit Andrish. America is no different. We serve God wherever we are, whether we're in Europe, whether we're in Israel, whether we're in America, we have a mission to do and we can serve our creator, we can serve our master and connect him in a most unique way. And the late Labavit Rebbe, Rabunnachem Mendel Schneerson, he said in late 1981, he said that this was regarding the lighting of a public menorah, he said, a sense of pride in their Yiddishkite to Judaism, and the realization that there is no reason, really, in this free country to hide one's Jewishness as if it were contrary or inimical to American life and culture. On the contrary, it is fully in keeping with the American national slogan, i plebus unum. I don't know if I said that right, but and the fact that American culture has been enriched by the thriving ethnic cultures, which contributed very much, each in its own way, to American life, both materially and spiritually. It's true there's darkness, it's true people can fall, but we have to view it America as Nit Andreish. America is no different. If we're here and this is where we're meant to be right now, based on our family situation, whatever it is, and you know we're not moving to Israel yet, and if you can move to Israel and you are there, that's unbelievable. But for those who are in America, and even for those who are not, but to have that viewpoint that there's a there's an avoda to be had. There's a spiritual uh unlocking that needs to take place in America. America is not different. We have to be proud to be Jewish, proud to show our Jewish identity, and proud to be the best people that we can be. Our job is to connect to the Luchos. We want to really be free. We want to really experience independence. We have to connect to the Word of God. An aspect about the Luchos that I want to share with you is something mind-boggling. It was Mishne Evray Miza'umise Himkusuvim. It was able to be read on both sides, meaning that Bosh Bainu standing from his perspective was able to read the Luchos in its entirety. And the Jewish people standing on the other side were able to read it clearly in its entirely. It was magical, it was miraculous, it was amazing. It doesn't matter what side of the aisle you're standing on, it doesn't matter what sphere, what part of earth you're sitting on, it doesn't matter which location you are currently present in. You can connect to the Torah. You can connect to yourself. You can connect to a life of meaning and purpose. It can be read from both sides. The place where you stand is holy ground. Our job, perhaps, during these three weeks is to remember what it means to be free. Remember what it means to be independent. We have to connect to our calling. We have to connect to the word of God, each in our own individual way, in a small way, to move the needle just a little bit and make that change in our life just an iota, showing that we want true freedom. We want to really be independent. I wish you all the best.