Many Americans are very partisan. They identify strongly with the political party of their choice, and see everything through that lens. The Jewish community often sees politics in the context of a party’s support for Eretz Yisroel. This was not the Rebbe’s approach.
Many Americans are very partisan. They identify strongly with the political party of their choice, and see everything that takes place in the political sphere through that lens. If their party does something, it must be good, if the other party does it, it must be wrong.
This is just as common within the Jewish community, which often sees politics in the context of a party’s support for Eretz Yisroel.
A political party or candidate which is supportive of Eretz Yisroel is wildly popular, while others are rejected.
This was not the Rebbe’s approach.
The Rebbe’s sichos about America were mostly delivered during the administrations of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
During those same years, the Rebbe spoke countless times about Eretz Yisroel and its relationship with the United States, often with strong criticism regarding the state of affairs. The criticism was directed, however, at the Israeli government.
When the Rebbe opposed the Camp David Accords, the sichos were not directed at President Jimmy Carter for brokering them, but toward Prime Minister Menachem Begin for agreeing to them.
When the Rebbe opposed the constant ceasefires during the Lebanon War, the criticism was not directed at President Ronald Reagan, who facilitated them, but at the Israeli leaders who accepted them.
The responsibility to protect Eretz Yisroel was the sole responsibility of the elected government in Eretz Yisroel, regardless of American pressure.
The Rebbe spoke about America and its government in a very different tone.
Even as an American president would be in the midst of pressuring the Israeli government to make one concession or another, the Rebbe would speak in the most respectful terms about America’s role as a safe haven for the Jewish people and the Lubavitch movement, and speak about the positive role it could play in the world.
Whether the sitting president was Democrat or Republican, the Rebbe would promote issues that were likely to be accepted by the administration.
THE TWO ADMINISTRATIONS
President Jimmy Carter, for example, had a special passion for education. He spoke about it during his major addresses and made it a big focus of his administration. It was during this period that the Rebbe pushed for the establishment of an independent Department of Education.
Until then, the federal government’s education-related responsibilities were handled by an assortment of federal entities and departments, but the Rebbe said that a U.S. Department of Education would bring a new sense of prestige and importance to issues relating to education.
The Rebbe wrote letters to congressmen pushing them to support the endeavor, and sent Rabbi Avraham Shemtov to lobby on its behalf.
Ultimately, the endeavor was successful, and Rabbi Shemtov was actually appointed to the “Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Education” in recognition of the Rebbe’s efforts.
At an event marking Gimmel Tammuz many years later, the sitting U.S. Secretary of Education made note of the fact that the Rebbe was instrumental in making it happen, “so I owe my job to him.”
Carter was the president who established Education Day USA, and the sichos about America during those years—at the very time America was pushing the Camp David Accords—spoke highly about the President’s devotion to education.
An especially fascinating window into the Rebbe’s approach is evident from the time after President Carter was voted out of office.
Carter was notoriously unpopular and widely derided as a failure. Yet, on Yud Shevat 5741, the Rebbe spoke about the importance of hakoras hatov—in contrast to the common approach in politics, which is to ignore or even denigrate the outgoing president—and thanked him for his focus on education and on maintaining world peace, despite the tense situation with the Soviet Union.
The incoming president was Ronald Reagan. He was a strong proponent of prayer in public schools and private school funding, and believed in the importance of religion in the public sphere. He frequently spoke about the Founding Fathers’ belief in the Creator, and saw this idea as central to keeping America strong.
It was during his presidency that the Rebbe pushed strongly to establish a Moment of Silence in public schools and to bring the knowledge of “An Eye that Sees and Ear that Hears” into the consciousness of American children.
Those were also the years when the Rebbe emphasized the importance of bringing the messages of Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach to the world, and directly mentioned the President’s support on several occasions.
In a letter to Elie Weisel, after he won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Rebbe asked him to focus his address on Sheva Mitzvos. The Rebbe pointed out that this was something that was already on the President’s mind, and could be a useful opportunity to draw him in that direction:
“President Reagan already mentioned this (briefly). Knowing his attitude, I am almost certain that he will join your call and demand on this topic, publicly and strongly.”
Another aspect of the Reagan presidency was his belief in American power. Outspoken against America’s enemies, he believed that the correct approach to foreign policy was “peace through strength.”
In the months after his inauguration, the Rebbe spoke about energy independence. America’s reliance on foreign oil had become a major challenge.
When the United States supported Eretz Yisroel during the Yom Kippur War, the Arab nations retaliated by imposing an oil embargo on the U.S, leading to severe shortages and an economic crisis that culminated in a major stock market crash.
As a result, America pressured Israel into making dangerous concessions.
The Rebbe saw this as more than just an economic problem—it was a spiritual issue.
For America to spread tzedek v’yosher to the rest of the world, it needed to free itself from the influence of dictatorships that held power through their control of oil.
The Rebbe explained that the solution lay in tapping into the abundant resources within America itself.
Beneath American soil lies a wealth of natural resources—oil, coal, and more—that, if developed, could free the country from foreign pressure.
The Rebbe also advocated the use of solar energy. The sun-rich southern United States could provide abundant, renewable energy that would not only meet its own needs but allow America to become a global energy leader.
By embracing these resources, America would be able to break free from foreign manipulation and focus on spreading justice, morality, and the Sheva Mitzvos worldwide.
A SIGN OF REDEMPTION
At the end of Nissan 5751, a revolt took place in northern Iraq. Thousands of Kurds protested the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Iraqi forces had brutally suppressed earlier Kurdish revolts, even using chemical weapons in doing so.
When Iraqi forces subdued this uprising, more than one million Kurdish refugees fled to Iran and Turkey. Hundreds of thousands of additional Kurds remained along the border of Iraq and Turkey, where thousands died due to a lack of food, water, clothing, blankets, shelter, and medical supplies.
In response, the United States organized a task force and launched Operation Provide Comfort, delivering as many as 600 pallets of supplies per day. In addition to the air drops, US Air Force planes flew thousands of tons of cargo from the United States to Turkey.
In a sicha, the Rebbe explained the uniqueness of the occurrence:
“It is well known that this country has recently used its might to help and save people in a distant place, sending vast amounts of soldiers from its army, together with food, clothing, and medication. Instead of using the food and clothing for the citizens of this country, they are using it to save unfortunate people, especially small children, from the cold, and even from the opposite of life.
“When they heard that people are suffering—although they are not their relatives, and they never had a connection to them—they immediately rushed to help them.
“We see how the nations are performing acts of goodness and kindness, which reveals furthermore that ‘there is a Master to this palace.’ It is a preparation for the time when “vehaysa laHashem Hamelucha,” with the true and complete redemption.”
In the later years, the Rebbe often pointed out how America (as well as many other nations) were doing acts of kindness that had been unfathomable just a few generations earlier.
In earlier times, war was considered inevitable, but suddenly countries were downsizing their armies, signing treaties to have fewer nuclear weapons, and using their military might to come to the aid of others. It was clearly a sign of Moshiach’s times.
The fact that the President had spoken about the Sheva Mitzvos was evidence of the same. During a sicha about Sheva Mitzvos, the Rebbe pointed out that “The President of the country has spoken publicly about the importance of the Sheva Mitzvos for every individual, and he has repeated this idea several times. It has indeed been accepted, not only in this country, but in many others as well.”
The Rebbe pointed out that, ultimately, lev melachim v’sarim b’yad Hashem, the hearts of kings and ministers are in the hands of Hashem. So, the fact that the President was promoting Sheva Mitzvos was actually a sign from Hashem to us.
What was the sign?
As we get closer to the geulah, the Rebbe explained, we need to prepare the world to serve Hashem—together— with Moshiach’s arrival, and one key way is through spreading the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach.
If Hashem showed us that the President himself is promoting the Sheva Mitzvos—it is a sign that there is more work to do.
Excerpt of this month’s Derher article Exporting Goodness and Kindness: The Rebbe’s Vision for America
I think Israel has done exactly what it should have this time and was only limited by the Biden administration.
When Israel does not take action because of American pressure, Israel is not behaving correctly.
This whole article references The Rebbes approach to an already elected President. Not regarding who we should vote for. Does Eretz Yisrael play no vote in the elections? Besides for Eretz Yisrael, Kamala represents everything woke, including turning a blind eye to anti semitism/ encouraging it by agreeing with the “genocide” libels, abortion, and in general self centeredness. No tzedek vyosher values, although if she is elected Chas vshalom, we would have to pull out something to bring out the best of the situation. I really don’t see how any frum yid (should be any yud yid period) would support her. Publishing this now, at election times, seems misleading
The full article addresses those questions as well. Obviously, we should vote for the candidate that best reflects the values of Torah and Mitzvos, but we can safely assume that the readers of this website will do so. The focus of this article, however, is often forgotten and overlooked.
In the periods mentioned in this article there was a country called America that was going one way or the other and we chose to look at the positive and the goodness that it contained and what can be accomplished through it. While they’re obviously is still merit to that approach, it bears mentioning that the America of the past does not exist. There are certain basic first principles that we do not share. Half the country is convinced that America is a fundamentally evil place that must be ripped down. that marriage does not need to be between a man and a woman. That the very definitions of man and woman do not exist. That the government should rip children out of the homes of their parents because only the government knows how to properly raise them. That religion is evil fanaticism. Just say nothing of the regular disagreements of policy. They believe in equity, the very definition of not tzedek vyoisher. With all the DEI they’re stuffing in every corner, the America of Days gone by is unrecognizable. These people would make sedom blush.