Seraphic Secret is afraid that the opening invocation for the Republican National Convention has not been widely circulated or understood.
But this was an important and historic moment for American Judaism and for the Republican party.
Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik is from one of the most respected and loved rabbinic dynasties. Soloveichik’s great-uncle, and the father of Modern Orthodoxy in America, was Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, my father’s rebbe. (The surname is spelled differently by various branches of the family.)
Meir Soloveichik is one of the front-runners for the position of Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, to replace Rabbi Lord Sacks when he retires.
Seraphic Secret met and chatted with Rabbi Soloveichik a few weeks ago when we attended a lecture he delivered at the Young Israel of Century City, Los Angeles. I told him how much I admired his articles for The Weekly Standard, and how much I appreciated his conservative advocacy. Rabbi Soloveichik was delighted to meet another Orthodox, um, conservative.
By choosing this distinguished Orthodox rabbi, one of our most brilliant Torah scholars and public intellectuals, the Republican Party shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that support for Israel is a vital concern and that the future of Torah Jews, who are the future of Judaism — the liberal branches are in a theological and demographic death spiral — lies with the Republican Party.
As I listened to Rabbi Soloveichik press home the idea that liberty is given by G-d, not government, I pondered a corner of American religious history which is all too often ignored. The dissenting Protestants who fled to these shores in 1620 believed in self-government. But this belief was rooted in the religious doctrine that every man and woman must engage individually in revelation through Scripture.
This rejection of collective salvation was a revolutionary idea, and it led directly to American democracy.
Barack Hussein Obama is a collectivist. This ideology permeates his political and religious thought. And every policy decision made by his regime brings America closer to the failed and discredited European model.
By choosing Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, America will return to the principles upon which America was founded.
Our good friend, David Gerstman, has informed us that Rabbi Soloveichik’s superb articles for Commentary can be found here.
P.S. Happy birthday, Karen. Here’s a song for you.
Ariel Chaim Avrech, ZT'L, May His Righteous Memory be a Blessing.
17 Comments
Wait a minute!
They may have believed in collective salvation but the Puritans implemented collectivism. It was only when their collectivist methods nearly starved them all to death that they figured out that property rights and trade would work where their socialist ideals failed. (Both Limbaugh & Stossel have written about this. Here’s Stossel.)
As for leading to democracy, remember that the founders were well-read. They knew the classics and so they knew that democracy typically degenerated to mobocracy and oligarchy. That’s why they embedded so many checks-and-balances in the Constitution countering both tyranny of the majority and tyranny of the minority. Words have precise meanings. That’s why they built a representative republic, not a democracy. Every time I hear or read someone who uses “democracy” to describe our political system I worry what they’re trying to sell.
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Happy (albeit belated) Birthday, Karen!
Nice post, Robert, but did you really just give a song to the former Miss Singer as a birthday present?? Isn’t that a bit cliche? You’re a creative guy — I hope you did better than *just* Dusty Springfield!
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Joe:
I came up with a nice gift —beside Dusty — for Karen that not only surprised but pleased her.
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I think the battle going on today goes back to the founding of the country and its principles – 236 later, still revolutionary.
The stakes are that high.
I am cautiously optimistic.
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Bill:
I know this might come back to bit me in the butt but as of now I’m fairly certain that Romney is going to win and our country will be saved from ruin.
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Great invocation, great song. Many happy returns to Karen.
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Franny:
Karen appreciates your birthday wishes.
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Happy Birthday Karen or as the Finns would say ”
Hyvää syntymäpäivää “
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D_mnFinn:
Karen says: Tak-tak!
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Happy birthday, Karen! Many happy returns of the day.
Excellent prayer and I hope that after November we will see Rabbi Soloveichik leading prayers from the White House.
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Dr. Carol:
Karen says thank you.
We’d love to see Rabbi Soloveichik in the WH, but there’s a pretty good chance he’ll be hanging out in Buckingham Palace.
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Just had the pleasure of meeting him yesterday! That was a great invocation…
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Irina:
Good to hear from you.
Yes, Rabbi Soloveichik is an amazing man.
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Just reminding Americans our rights come from God and not the government is always a shock to the big government loving liberals. It’s as if they have never read a certain document our country was founded on.
Happy xxth birthday Karen and here’s wishing you many more.
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Johnny:
Karen says thanks.
To be a liberal progressive means to progress beyond the Constitution — to their utopian hell on earth.
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“The dissenting Protestants who fled to these shores in 1620 believed in self-government…This rejection of collective salvation was a revolutionary idea and it led directly to American democracy.”
What a terrific observation, one I have not heard before. I’m not particularly a Romney fan, but I do like Ryan, and I would vote for a yellow dog before I voted for that dreadful America-hater who currently occupies the Office.
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Shyla:
Thanks so much.
Did you know that the English dissenters seriously considered making Hebrew the official language of the new world?
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