delray beach orthodox rabbi

                                                                                      B"H
                        
Celebrating July 4th and how it influenced my thoughts on Roe V Wade
 
Growing up, Independence Day was the least significant public holiday. School was already over and there was little benefit in a celebration that didn’t afford me a day off from school. As an adult I spent many years overseas and in countries where July 4th was in the middle of winter celebrated by a few Americans on ski slopes rather than BBQs.
 
Yet, I'm proud to be an American, primarily due to an independence that I finally understand. I appreciate that I am not bound by the European church’s doctrines. I’m glad to no longer be subservient to the dogma of Islam, a religion that downgraded Jews to a secondary status. I'm free from communism, socialism, and all other isms. Independence grants me the liberty to be who I want to be without government intrusion or indoctrination.
 
Independence allows me to follow my God and live within the boundaries of the Torah. Independence allowed my family to decide which school my children attended. Independence allows me to support Israel or circumcise my children without fear or intimidation. Independence allowed my wife and I to decide how many children we ultimately had. Had we lived in China, for example, their policies may have severely limited our choice.
 
I’m certainly fortunate to live in a country that allows me to keep the Sabbath the way I interpret it, but I’m even more fortunate to live in a country that doesn’t force me to keep the Sabbath. I may choose to live an orthodox lifestyle but I certainly don’t want my government acting as big brother. Honestly, religion would cease being relevant if an outside influence took away my free choice.
 
I don’t want anyone to force Judaism upon me and I certainly have no interest in the government forcing Judaism upon society at large. As a minority among a minority, I as an Orthodox Jew am delighted to have a choice. But as an Orthodox Jew I’m cognizant that I am merely a blip on the radar.  For all intents and purposes, my sentiment and opinion play no role at all.
 
Personally, I find any legislation that interferes with one’s personal choice contradictory to how I perceive the core values of a free and independent country. It’s not that I don’t have opinions or that my religion is silent on the subject. Quite the contrary, I have my personal view and my religion speaks volumes on the subject. It’s just that our ancestors created a country that became the greatest in the world, primarily because my opinions and religious views are mine and mine alone.
 
Shabbat shalom,
 
Rabbi Jack Engel