On Chol HaMoed Sukkos, I took my family to visit an old neighbor – in fact, a very old neighbor. I had never met the neighbor before, but my wife and I felt it was worth a visit. Although the neighbor doesn’t say anything and just stands around staring into space, people travel from far and wide to see her. The fact that she’s completely green doesn’t seem to deter them at all.
Until I was eight years old, I grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Although the Williamsburg Bridge was our closest neighbor, the Statue of Liberty was a pretty close neighbor, as well. As is often the case, during those years I never visited the statue, though it was a brief ferry ride away. Over the years and decades since we moved to Monsey, even during the tens of Chol HaMoed outings, we had never visited Liberty Island.
This year, we decided to finally visit my old green neighbor. Together with our cousins from Teaneck, we took the ferry from Jersey City first to Ellis Island.
It was a moving experience seeing the place where some of our ancestors first arrived in America. We were so enraptured by Ellis Island that we missed the ferry we wanted to take to Liberty Island and had to wait a half hour for the next one.
When we finally came to Liberty Island, we went straight to the entrance of the pedestal. We arrived at the entrance at 3:30 p.m., just in time for the island staff to tell us they closed at 3:30. I tried to reason that it was still 3:30 and there was no reason they should deny us the opportunity to enter. When I finished making my point, the snarky guard replied that it was then 3:31 and we were too late.
It was quite disappointing to say the least. We took the customary pictures in front of the statue, but not being able to climb the pedestal put a damper on our trip.
We headed back to the ferry and came very close to mistakenly taking the one to Manhattan instead of Jersey City. It was that type of day. At least we enjoyed a wonderful Chol HaMoed supper with our cousins in their sukkah in Teaneck.
I must add that, although I enjoyed seeing the statue up close, it didn’t evoke the same feelings of American patriotism that it may have a few years ago. The events of the past year have done a great deal to remind me that, as a Jew, my feelings of nationalism are primarily elsewhere.
The haftarah of Parshas B’reishis contains the poignant words of Yeshayah HaNavi (perek 42-43) regarding the destiny of the Jewish People. He refers to us as “a light for the nations” and then adds, “You are My witnesses.” Says Hashem, “And My servant whom I have chosen so that you know and rely on Me, and understand that I am He: before Me, no god was formed; nor shall there be after Me.”
Like it or not, the Jewish people are always held on a proverbial pedestal, and the world is always looking towards us. Somehow our relatively minuscule nation and land is always the subject of major headlines.
The Netziv writes (Haameik Davar, BaMidbar 14:21) that the goal of creation is that Hashem’s glory should fill the earth. That is accomplished when all human beings recognize Him.
The Torah states that the miracles of the Splitting of the Sea were performed in order that”the Egyptians should know that I am G-d” (Sh’mos 7:5). Ibn Ezra adds that the Egyptians referred to were those who drowned. That means that the Splitting of the Sea was warranted even for the few seconds of recognition of Hashem by the drowning Egyptians.
The Netziv explains that the Jewish people could have served as a light unto the nations while living in Eretz Yisrael. We could have inspired the world through awareness of the miraculous Divine Providence that guides the Jew in his land. When we were exiled, however, it became necessary to spread the knowledge of Hashem by living among the nations and their witnessing how we sacrifice ourselves for His Name. Our survival as a solitary lamb among 70 hungry wolves points to the existence of a Divine Creator, whose Divine Providence guides and protects His nation.
More than 300 years ago, King Louis XIV of France asked Blaise Pascal, the Christian philosopher, to prove to him the existence of G-d. Pascal answered, “Why, the Jews, Your Majesty, the Jews!”
The Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 6) says, “‘And he is a witness,’ this refers to the Jewish people, as it says, ‘You are my witnesses, says G-d, and I am your Lord...’ If you will not testify, you will carry His sin.” If you do not relate My existence to the nations, says Hashem, I will exact punishment from you. The nations of the world should ideally work in unison with us to proclaim and acknowledge the Creator.
Rabbi Zev Leff notes that the scorn of the nations of the world is not a sign of our perfection, but rather that something is lacking in our service of G-d, that we have failed in our role of leading a life of holiness separate from the nations and their lifestyles. The metaphysical law that “Eisav hates Yaakov” guards us from assimilation and spiritual self-destruction. But when we fulfill our role properly, the entire world will also want to share in our service of Hashem.
We missed an opportunity to climb the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. However, it’s a reminder that we as a people stand on a pedestal constantly with the goal of inspiring the world. They can taunt, persecute, and abuse us. But it’s impossible for them to not be awed by us.
The one question we were left wondering is whether Fredric-Auguste Bartholdi, the designer of the Statue of Liberty, was unaware of the effect of oxidation on copper? Did he not realize that the statue would inevitably turn green, which it did within 30 years? Or perhaps he thought green is an attractive color for a female statue reaching 151 feet in the air? Either way, as long as she doesn’t drop the golden torch or the green book, she’s doing okay. And as long as we clutch the Torah close to our hearts and continue to hoist its flame above for all to see, we’re doing okay, as well.
Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW, is a popular speaker, columnist, and author. He is a rebbe at Heichal HaTorah in Teaneck, NJ. and principal of Mesivta Orchos Yosher in Spring Valley, NY. Rabbi Staum is also a member of the administration of Camp Dora Golding. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and at strivinghigher.com.
