If it Quacks Like a Duck

on Araf Shabas Kesh Paresi in the year a Yid by the name of Rabis Eloey also known as Rabbi Dr. Bernardi Loey sat down in his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, and he penned a letter to two of the great puskim in Europe at the time. Rabchamu Farlh in Germany and Ribnasen Adler, the other Ribbnasen Adler in London. Now, by way of background, Rabius Eloi was born in Colonia in the year 1814. He studied in Presburg in the gracy yeshiva by the hilamy. In fact, he had received smika from theamifer. After spending several years in Presburg, he spent a little bit of time in Italy. From there he went to Budapest where he received a PhD, a doctorate from the University of Budapest. In 1852, for whatever reason, him and his small family decided to leave Europe and they came to the United States of America. Now, by training, he was a rabbi and a doctor, which meant that he was very much fit to become a rabbi/docctor in the United States at that time. He immediately went to New York City where he received the Rabonus. Didn't last very long. From there, he went to Philadelphia. That also didn't last very long. From there he went to St. Louis. At some point he was a rabbi in Syracuse, in Baltimore, in New Orleans, and then finally he ended his career in Cincinnati, Ohio. The reason that Rab Eloey wrote the letter that he wrote was because of a that he felt he needed some legal assistance from these great PKIM in Europe. So he sits down and he sends this letter gives a little bit of background to the state of the union of the United States of the time. If you go through it in short, he describes it as being spiritually beerefted, almost a spiritual wasteland. And then in his letter, he comes to his punch line. He says, New Orleans. It's been 8 months since I was offered this job to be the in New Orleans and to preach to them and tell them what it is wants from them. You should know the God of my father was with me. You should know from the moment I came I saw incredible success because after I dared for the first time more than 40 of the merchants that lived in town they agreed to shut their stores on chabas and they made a kabala that they will no longer work on the holy Today and the more than 10 families who prior to this sermon were eating they house to the point that any person that's if you wanted to eat in their house they could do that. It was the third day after that I arrived. One of my friends invited me to come break bread in his house. When I came to the courtyard of his home, I saw ducks. They looked a little bit different in just the way that they appeared. their physical makeup than the ducks that we're accustomed to eating. So, we all eat ducks. It's a delicacy. You don't eat it every day, but it's something that makes its way onto the Jewish menu. I saw ducks, but they were different than the ducks that we eat. They have a name. They're called in English muscoi ducks. And I have to be honest with you, I've gotten around clearly and I've never seen anything like this. So I asked my friend, tell me, what do you do with these ducks? What do you mean, what do we do with them? We eat them. So I double down and I asked him, who told you you're allowed to eat it? He said, nobody. I mean, no one told me it's kosher cuz I didn't ask him what if it was kosher, but he saw other people eat it and he saw the who's an guy. He shacks them and also the who's the of one of the other kilos. Now appreciate that once upon a time the kazin wasn't just a caner. The kazin very often was the most knowledgeable person the he was like a quasi rabbi but the in this other based on that I'm assume that it's for I mean if all the people that are eat it it so why would I assume it's anything but says that after I did my own little bit of I started asking people like what are you being nobody was able to give me an answer the best answer I got and really the only answer I got was I saw him do it and he saw the other guy do it and that guy saw the third person do it and it was through that that it was immediately I commanded I instrued that he's no longer. Additionally, I got up and I ded and I said that these ducks are not kosher. There are people that came to me. What am I basing it on that I'm going ahead and I'm answering this? I mean, after all, it has all the same. I learned to look like it checks off all the boxes. I told them that all the that they have are a waste of time. And the reason is because we have a clout that the only time we eat an is if there's a that it's kosher. And we don't have any from anybody reliable that this is kosher and as a result we can't eat it. A little bit of time passed. This who was eating it who was very vocal about the fact that it's al it's okay. He walked into me not through he walked in. He said he says we don't have a mess. The whose job I took over the before me he used to eat it. Not just that he told them they've also always been eating it. This type of is not enough. the number one who is the ofdon of Jamaica that you're relying on or of Charleston South Carolina that you believe is the one that can be the in the proper way and not only that there wasn't even a and he said besides as relates to this that you're talking about I did a little bit of research and I found out that he was a shabas so the fact that the kazin used to eat the muscoi duck that to me is neither here nor there either way. He goes through the a little bit. He has a very long and at the very very end of his letter he says even though I believe there's undoubtedly an issue but I promise some of the people who really desire this muscoi do that I'm going to sit down and I'm going to ask the I'm going to write a letter to the ins and if they're going to testify that there is a messiah on this talk or they'll be m for some other reason that I'm willing to be m as well. It's for that reason. This is the letter that Rabbi Dr. Bernard Iloi some say Iloi by the way wrote to Rabam Farlh and to Ramnosen Adler ones from New Orleans, Louisiana. So a few weeks later Rab Eloey receives a response. He receives a response from Rabam Schulh and he receives a response from Rabbi Nusen Adler. And they both gave him the same response and that is you puskined 100% correctly. There's no question in the world you cannot eat this muscoid. It's not something that's okay. And it's for that reason. It's for that reason. This is not okay. And Rabbi Eloi stood his ground like he had to do very often during his rebbitic career in budding United States of America. And he said that as inconvenient as it is, but if I'm going to be the rabbi and I'm going to be calling shots, the Muscovi duck, although it's within the family of the duck, is something that's not going to be able to be considered kosha. Now, I think it's kadai to be misplaining for a second about this whole shil. Let's look at it from 20,000 ft. Look at it from a very high level. We know the is we just went through the sugis that although gave us of and it's one of the more complex sugis in but at the end of the day when it comes to it's actually very very straightforward the say that the only time today anybody's allowed to eat an is if there's a mess that this is kosher if there's no messiah as far as we know even though it maybe checks off every single box in the world the bottom line is if there's no messiah is you would not be able to eat it. Stating that as it relates to the Muscovi duck. There were really two arguments to be made that there's a messiah. Number one, the Muscoi duck is part of the family of ducks. It's part of the general species of the duck. There's a mess that the duck is kosher. So we should be between the duck and the muscoi duck. It's part of the family of duck. There are so many subspecies within every single animal, every single creature in the world of would we have to have a mess on every individual one or could we say there's a messiah on the duck? Jews have been eating it forever and as a result this is something that should be okay. Additionally, the second reason to maybe be m is there was a messiah. There was a messiah. The Jews in New Orleans were eating it from it's clear that the Jews in Charleston, South Carolina were eating it. It's clear the Jews in Jamaica were eating it. By the way, this is Montego Bay, Jamaica. So on the Caribbean island, Jews are eating it, right? Jews have been eating this. This is something that Jews were eating. So to say that that's not a mira and there is something called that if you find Jews, it's in such a profound way. It's probably coming from somewhere. I mean that's an argument. We always make so you wouldn't have a right to make an argument like that right we say that but right so to the extent that there was such a clear ms that people were eating it just because we're not aware of any g or even abundant that lived there but us not knowing of one doesn't mean there never was one and shouldn't we assume that if you have all these yidden who sought by other people. It probably started the Kaidesh. But either way, Rav bear's intuition was that the Muscovi duck is different than a regular duck. It requires its own mess. And the Messiah of the Frien of New Orleans or of any that was in Charleston or Montigo Bay is not enough of a mess. His was that we have to lock this down. He owed it to his to see what the rabbon in Europe were going to say. He sent it to two of the biggest of the daralher and they both pasined like beer pasin. At this point it was already a bestden and the pak was at least in New Orleans at least if you belong to Bernardi Loisbo that you were not going to be able to eat the Muscovi duck stating that several years later this tuml erupted again with regards to the muscovi duck is it kosher is not kosher and the wrote chu is some of the most famous kdugistrol ever and I think it's kadai to mention two of The first is a chuva from the and the other one is a chuva that came from the world of the world of and that is from the and this is this how he starts. He says so he sets it up that there are these ducks that arrived in Warso. That's where this Shiloh had emerged. But where they come from? He said they came from Russia. I looked this up a little bit. The Muscovi duck is not native to Russia. The Ncoi dup is very much native to the Americas, Central America, South America, the southern part of the United States. That's where this is native. It's not native in Russia. I don't know. But it could be that being that the duck was called the Muscovi ducker was just of the opinion that Muscovi is mil in Moscow the musk of a duck. I don't know but either way describes this duck as a duck that comes from Russia. It's just my guess that it's the musk of a duck but it's not a musk. This is an American duck. But the bottom line is that talks about this duck that came and he says right the it's different than regular ducks. Some of them are different than our ducks. They have longer necks than our ducks necks have. There are those that have a gapushes on their head. So what's a a gapush? A gapushes is like some fleshy bump. And if you see a picture of the moss duct, they have them all over their head and on their nose. And at first glance, that seems to be amen. And some of them have a black nose. The bottom line is it's different. And here's the question. The question is, could we be on the general of the duck or these ducks so profoundly different that the messiah that we have is not going to be okay? And then DNA did what he always done and that is he wrote a brilliant chua just to mention two excerpts from the truth of daba. Damn na said as it relates to the ducks that their shino is that their neck is longer than the other ones. Meaning that is their real shinu. Apparently they don't all look exactly the same. But the ones that have that longer neck he said from that standpoint I'm not impressed. That's not something that bothers me at all. And he based it on said if you take the that's the goose and the that's the wild goose and you make them together it's going to be considered and he said what's the reason he said is it because one has a longer nose and the other one has a shorter nose that it can't be. And because of that, the came out, there must be a different reason why it's considered. that if one goose has a longer nose and the other one has a shorter one that wouldn't be considered a that when it comes to know whether two are the same or not the same so that a from one would carry over to the other the rule of thumb is would it be considered in or not if they're considered to hook well then the one is not the father which is then not considered the same. If however it wouldn't be a problem. Well then for one would be a messiah for father that if you have two that fall under the same general species but they're we know there wouldn't be a problem of well then the for one is going to be mahana for the other says in that the length of a nose is not considered a shino even though apparently they were very different one had this much bigger one than the other. But I feel that in of itself is not a reason to make it a prophet. Well, if it's true for the nose, why shouldn't it be true for the neck? So the neck that it's not considered a well as as it relates to kosher or not kosher, I don't think it's going to be an issue either. So that my is that the physical difference that was presented to me at least as it relates to the longer neck again it's but the bottom line is based on that I don't think it's going to be an issue there's another and that is that the the sound that the Muscovi duck makes is different than the sound that a regular duck makes they're a little horsearo they don't have that bellowing sound like a regular duck does and it could be that's already to make it a ready and if that's the case the we have duck is not going to work the fact that it's physically different to me I think but the fact that they're the fact they don't sound like a regular duck right the fact that they don't quack like a duck well if you don't quack like a duck maybe you're not a duck and based on that I think that's a shinule and that's already something that I'm concerned about stating that said I understand from the research that I did that in the small villages they mate the muscoi duck with regular ducks and if that's the case I have another and that's says A animal that's a that's non-cooser cannot have a child with a kosher animal and a animal that's kosher meaning if the female is kosher she can't be misar the same is true as it relates to a gossip versus they can't make from each other with one exception said there's Gamora that says that a behemoth can't be miseras from a behemoth. If that's the case, if you're going to tell me that these two ducks made from each other and we know the REGULAR DUCK IS FOR SURE KOSHER cuz for that we do have a misra. It must be you're backing into a conclusion that the muscoi duck must also be kosher because if it wasn't kosher, how could they made from each other? How could one be misarious FROM THE OTHER? SO ONCE I KNOW THAT THE DUCK IS KOSHER AND I KNOW this duck is mis from the other duck I know that THE MUSCOI DUCK THAT OTHER DUCK MUST BE KOSH now said I know what you're going to tell me that over there's memor is talking about it's talking about as well said that I quoted a minute ago in that he brings And he was mistopic in this very sh and if you look he wasn't 100% sure but his was to be and to assume that just like there's a cloud that as it relates to the same is going to be true as it relates to a knife if it's going to be true from an you know THESE TWO IS MADE FROM EACH other and you know one of them is kosher so this easy arithmetic you know by definition that the other one must be kosher as well and then damn said something so brilliant he said was misop IC whether's memor is true for like it's true for I think I have au it's so subtle but so profound from the itself he said I was reading the gar bothered me a little bit now makes sense because is the female. So the female from the male that's the normale from the tummy, right? We're referring to the female, the one who's either yet or not as the who's not the one that's as either. Look at the next line of And so why would they both be lasha? You should have one. And he says the word dak is a real word in lasher. Gas is also a real word. And by the way, as it relates to gas, he says if you're not sure, take a look at the we had that gas, right? We had the word gas last week in the d. But the bottom line is why isn't it by we express it properly the females and the bel but when it comes to and over there they're both mentioned the but why is the mention of if you notice the word is the word is a lush he says that's why you find even a behemoth That's a z is referred to asma. There's no other word to describe it. It's always and he brings from and from that we always refer to a behemoth even a male behemoth as a behemoth. There's no word for that. And the inverse is true for the is always going to be even if you're dealing with a female if not the it's always going to be the we always refer to it. So says the says the as it relates to you always find as it relates to if you always find if you hold that is that this idea of it's true for the and cipher the so we had no choice but TO BE PRECISE AND SAY IT in the cave in the cuz we wanted you to know that it's true not only for the but it's true for the it's true for the as well had it only meant said I believe IT WOULD HAVE SAID FOR I WHY you referring TO THE MALE BECAUSE HE ALWAYS REFERRED TO THE POINT youundas that you refer to it that way but we WANTED IT TO BE CLEAR THAT WE DON'T ONLY mean so that's why we're getting involved in the lion BECAUSE YOU SHOULDN'T THINK THAT OH WE'RE GOING TO REFER TO the assh because this is AND NOT ONLY IT'S ALSO LIFE. SO YOU HAVE to be precise with your language and mentions the next line again you have to be for all this but you won over there why he says because take a look at the it's where it's that could be from an THAT'S A IT'S ONLY BY IT'S not true by that's why when it comes TO THE SECOND MEMOR WHAT'S THE CASH? YOU'RE mentioning by you're always allowed to mention the eyes to be consistent. know with not being inconsistent it's only the how do I know it's only the because that's so if I know it's only so you can mention to the male AS BUT AS it relates to it's also so I don't want to talk then I'm going to think it's only and as this dto TO AS OPPOSED TO IT'S A HUFFLE. IT'S so subtle. It's so subtle. This is classic. The bottom line is the abnorites back that I think it's kosher. The Muscovi I don't THINK THIS IS A PROBLEM. I DON'T THINK IT'S A PROBLEM. the chino of its physical stature. Take a look at as it relates to the fact that it's the fact that it doesn't quack like a duck. That's a problem. Is not going to help you. But at the same time, they make from each other. And if they made for each other, MUST BE THEY'RE both kosher. So must be that they're both kosher. I maybe it's only true by not and besides baby this the way it is. The bottom line is Naser with an incredible said the muscoi you were way too from for your in New Orleans. You didn't HAVE TO BE SO I hope that this is something that's going to be okay. There's another troo as we mentioned earlier. This truth didn't come from Poland. This truth came from that was written in the year tough memdalit. So if you're keeping score, this is 1884. And this was written by the nitiv. And the nitiv also was asked the same exact question. This muscoi duck is making its rounds quite literally. And the raan are being asked to opine and to try to uh figure out is this kosher or is it not kosher. Now the sh who asked this question to the apparently was a a grace of grace and his first name is his second name is Yellowis savger guard but this is uh who this sh is and he's apparently a very very big guy because in his sha he was to a lot of what would write in his truth many years later so when he came to the he already came with a whole trua and it came to him telling him that I know it's different but at First glance I think there might be a little bit of a mah. The first thing he told was that the duck has longer neck. I don't think this is an issue. Why? So we know the Indian the size of your nose doesn't really make a difference even if it's impressively different. It's not going to make A DIFFERENCE AND READY that anything that's not a shinu is not a either but said I have a problem with that because I was told and the truth is seems to allude to this mitz as well in his chuvo that the muscoi duck is physically a much larger duck it's not just that the neck is uh taller the actual height the size theorim are bigger and he said if that's the case I don't know to another that we're going to learn in a couple of weeks and that is the over there is discussing a mule specifically a mule that was from a versus a what we need is one line if it has large ears and it has a small tail it's the son of a zut If it has small ears and has a large tail, it's the son of a of a horse. Papa said that if one is bigger and small, if the so profoundly different in many ways or in more than one way, then at that point you can't anymore because it must mean it's a different type of meal. One is the and the other one is the bario. And it's I'm not so comfortable simply dismissing and rejecting this by saying oh with the because to me it's not just the neck that's different. They're different. I think one duck is the proverbial and the other one is the proverbial and if that's the case one is about these are two different meaning by the way and if that's the case it would be true then as well. This was something that made the nit very uncomfortable. This again was a big London. He also was so about I know they make these ducks together. to the extent that they made them isn't that right from Ben said if that should really be because here online like came out but I'm not sure this is going to work even though I have one problem because we are as I've seen the and the one is kosher the other one's not kosher and they procreate from each other must be I don't know if I have choice but to say that as much as the of memory is that it's true not only by behemoth but it's true by as well but the may not that way and if that's the case what conclusion do we have to draw we have to draw that true only said it by not so I agree you're right and by the way said even though he doesn't call you know years later would write this with a right from the dick but at the end of the day said I have a little bit of problems but said I have another and that is just so brilliant. It's fun like when all these are in your fingertips, right? Amazing. The following question was asked to me by the soashi says asked me a question. He came with a right very often ask you call me with a big. So again with his an was that being not let him make two animals that are different based on that you wouldn't be allowed to put them together in a stall put them together you know in a mat of because if you're going to put them in a mat of so they might end up doing an a and it's going to come out you on some level this is so this is the that makes so he comes to and he says I have a following sh can I take uh male of a certain animal, take the female of that animal and also the female of another type of animal and put them all together. What's the shamar? Do we say in this case we have to be worried about because why would the animal go and says he said I was like not because I think there's a real issue I think there's no issue but it was because of a might if you take a look at the say raashi was masking to the that really you're not supposed to mate You're not supposed to put in a state of a animal together with another animal that are two different but in this case where you're putting it together with your men even though I'm being that's the piece that he said is I didn't like this whole I said it's awesome but then it really wasn't a problem. Why not? The reason is because the of this his was an accurate. As much as we're concerned that the animal might be rea but if is there why would he go to if Mina is really there? So listen to what the said you want to eat the musccoi duck. This is what I would tell you to do. I would tell you take a muscoi duck and put it together in a deer with another muscoi duck meaning male and female and then put a female regular duck and see what happens if the musccoi duck is not going to be m between the other muscoi and the other duck. So if THAT'S THE CASE VICE IT'S ALL THE SAME MEN BECAUSE WE HAVE a bas for sure it's going to go to if you're going to see that it's going to go to THE OTHER AND NOT TO THE THEN YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU HAVE he said to simply rely on even though I'm the but I'm not so comfortable because I don't know what to do with the so maybe it's only true by not AND I AGREE WITH YOU it shouldn't be different but I have a different that I can invoke I can invoke this garb from the base and based on that you could have a but either way the niv sits down and the niv tells him you're asking me my opinion asking my opinion I'm going to tell you what I think I think that as relates to the shinuya is a problem it's a problem I don't think is I think they're two fundamentally different it's like the two types of mules I don't think you can get away with that in terms of I don't love that either I don't love that either I love it for behemoth I don't love it However, that's an I want you to know if no one had ever eaten the duck and someone just discovered it and you came to me and you asked me can you eat it or not? I would have written to you what I just wrote to you. This would have been my but being that the min is apparently in different places that Jews eat the duck. And probably it was done. It would be inappropriate for us to go ahead and BEHEL that Jews have been eating it. probably it started somewhere and you have no choice but to give it the benefit of the doubt and then I'm skipping a little bit he says I'll prove it to you the turkey he said when they arrive from India a lot of people today won't eat turkey they ain't no one's against people that eat turkey of this whole started very not okay they showed up from India people started eating it so what exactly is the is this is the way it works once it's that people operate a certain way that already gives it a bottom line is and they both came out not for the same reason was based on he felt that being gave us his epic like like and like himself thought he had this from the dick of the so based on that he felt that being that these two ducks made from each other checkmate and as a result this is something that's uh going to be okay then the nitiv wasn't so comfortable with this the only way he was willing to work with is was in the event that you can up the ante a little bit and you can experiment it period take two musccoi ducks and a regular duck or two regular ducks and a muscoi duck you know work with that a little bit and see how it it all plays itself out and based on that you'll be able but he said I don't care there's a mira and because of the fact there's a mis so based on that based on that this is something that's going to be okay so as much says Ilaw came out and when he sent his shila the two of Europe and they came out but years later the way the would work through the sug was very much very very much either you have this blaring based on the or based on the and even a lot of them that maybe these shinuyim that that we're experiencing that we're seeing aren't really such shinuy. I didn't research this properly but I will tell you that there is a postcript to this and that is this Shila came to the desk Frank it's actually printed in a small chuva invade and said that I think he said there's a story from salant that salant was and the for sure until very very recently was that they shed it and ate the Muscovi ducks as much as this Muscovi duck came with so much tuml and there was so much talk about it but at the same time the miniistrol played itself out with with that about 15 20 years ago there's articles written on this was some uh I think it came more from the world that maybe it's not okay I think it's I think the m has changed and shifted in recent years but I'm driving out of my lane right now but the bottom line is for sure the ministral was to go with the of the to go with the pac of the to go with the pac or of pesak France and that was to treat the Muscovi duck like a duck. And if a duck is kosher, this Muscovi duck is going to be kosher as well. But I just thought as it relates to just the whole story of Rabbi Dr. Bernard Ili and Ryak Eloi you know becomes a rabbi in you know early America and you know really just his whole story is a is a fascinating story. Sure. This years ago I had discussed to discuss uh Rabi Loey with Rabbi Binfeld many times. Rabi Binfel is actually the only person I know that has the original safer called which are the chu from Blo. He has an original copy of the safer and he's someone that you know he had studied over the years. More recently I got a hold of uh a book. It's a doctoral dissertation that was written by Dr. Mosha Sherman. He's a history professor at Toro College and um he wrote his dissertation on Ra Bernard Loi. I went through it cover to cover. It's fascinating on so many levels. By the way, there's a lot of other issues that Rab Eloey was at the forefront of. All very worthy of going through is some fascinating discussions. The most famous one is the Muscoid. He was most famous by a mile. But there are other very very important and other very uh prominent ones as well. But I was going through the book and I put some stickers by Samar a long time ago in case uh you know we ever got to the point where we were going to discuss Rabbi Loi as well. and preparing for the I went back and looked at the stickers and one of the stickers was uh excerpt of a sermon that Rabbi Eloi gave in his Kahila at that point. He was in Philadelphia and this was inesh. It was in the year um it was in 1853. I'm sorry. It was printed in but this was in the year 1853 and he gave it on July 2nd. Now I tried tracking down to see if I can get my hands on the original uh article that draws. So it was actually printed in the accident. So for those that know the accident was Isaac Liser's uh Isaac Liser is one of the founding fathers of of American Jewish history. His story is an incredible story that is Hashem we have to tell at some point. But Isaac Leer he had this publication the accident where he was fighting a skull and he was fighting a lot of things that were going on. Either way it's printed in the accident and thank to the thanks to the help of Simon Springer who was gracious enough to join us uh now. So, uh, Simon Springer who's doing incredible work trying to rehabilitate and bring back a lot of these old American rabbis that the world's forgotten of. And really, if you think about them, they planted so much of the seeds that, you know, ultimately was able to grow on. And you read their stories and some of them nefish they had for it is mindboggling. And it's but the bottom line is that Naki introduced me to Simon Springer and Simon Springer within a minute was able to get me a uh clear copy of the accident. This is in volume 11. It's number six. Had a feeling that uh he gave it on July 2nd. The excerpt looked really really good and I said it's 250 years old from the founding of this country and who knows what's going on in this Joshua. So I'll just share with you a few excerpts freedom the gift of God. That's the title of the sermon. An address by the Reverend Dr. Bernardi Loey delivered in English at the synagogue rode shaw in Philadelphia on July 2nd which is the year 1853. The three-fold cord shall never be broken. The three-fold bond of liberty, equality and fraternity shall never be torn aunder. We read in our lesson of this day as follows. So he starts reading from the para. The parish talks about how you have to treat the G to convert properly. And he says it says it three times. And finally again three times the talks about how even the stranger who lives in our land is somebody that we have to be sensitive to. This announcement is distinctly contained the will of God that the land he had given to our ancestors should be a land where freedom was to dwell and righteousness to prevail. All the inhabitants of this glorious and first republic of the world should be equal before the Lord because he is the father of all. And the stranger who wished to live in the land of promise should enjoy the same rights and the same privileges as every one of the congregation of Israel. One right and one law shall be for you and for the stranger that dwells with you. Such was the basis upon which the new state of Israel was founded. And these words remind us of the day which is fast approaching for us. It is the 4th of July, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the day in which the same words were pronounced by the illustrious founders of our glorious republic. One law and one right shall be for all men. Let us therefore my brethren today when we are assembled to celebrate the Sabbath day and to thank God for the creation of the world also thank him for the creation of this happy state of freedom and peace. Let us today commemorate this great brilliant and happy day which sealed the independence of the country we live in. Let us gratefully remember the day which ushered in the great event with which the happy history of our country commenced. honored and remembered forever be that day on which the father of the land of freedom first unshathed his sword to redeem his country from the iron yoke of foreign oppressors. He goes on and on. I'm going to skip a little bit. My friends, a poor speaker as I am, I shrink from an attempt to trace out all the happy circumstances which are closely connected with the 4th of July 1776. I shrink from the attempt to be a speaker of a great nation whose land is a blessing to mankind to whose sons no branch of knowledge is foreign and which although young claims for them in every kind of progress a place among the foremost. I feel myself still less able to describe the heroic deeds and disinterested services of men like Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Franklin. Men who will forever live in the hearts of their countrymen. men who will forever be remembered and venerated as lions in war, as meekness itself in peace, and as strong barriers of justice and truth against violence and fraud. Indeed, I shrink from the attempt to sketch a striking picture of all this. But all I can do is remind you that among the many millions of inhabitants of this happy land, none should solemnize this day with more grateful feelings than the Jews. On this day, we should recall in all their intensity emotions which the oppressed, the weak and homeless feel on finding a powerful protector and a hospitable asylum. On this day, you should gratefully recollect that is in this great and happy day which fully compensated us for all the dark deeds of blood, for all the glouing menacles of slavery, for all acts of oppression and tyranny which despite governments had for ages inflicted upon us. And lastly, this day should be put us in mind that we live no more in the lands where bigots rage and fanatics rave, where bigotry traces out the march of its persecution and footsteps of blood and superstition. Not bad for someone whose first language is not English, by the way. And superstition employs all its terrors to nerve the arm of the tyrant. We live no more in the lands where the spotic oppressors prohibit upon pain of death the practice of our religion. No, we live now on freedom soil. and this day has fulfilled the prophecy. I will carry you upon eagle's wings. The powerful eagle of America beers us upon his protected wings. Religious liberty is given to us. Let us therefore use it only in such a way that it may make us worthy of the title of free men of the freeborn sons of Israel. Only in this way can we duly appreciate the precious legacy which the illustrious founders of this republic bequeath to us. And may the great father on high who dwells in this house give us his blessing. May he bless us father and all the inhabitants of this happy land with liberty, peace and brotherly love that our last generation may still gratefully commemorate the 4th of July and with a joyful heart proclaim. This is the day which God has made. Let us be glad and rejoice thereon. Now, this is a rabbi speaking to a kahila in Philadelphia 1853. And he's trying to get the to realize what they have, the gift that akades gave them that 250 years later, although we're hanging on for dear life, we still have. And really if you go through the sermons of the great rabbis that were the founding fathers of this country and by the way I don't mean the aliyah of the late 19th century early 20th century when millions of Jews immigrated from Europe and we don't mean you know post world war ii when you had like the and other mashim that that really really brought to America but go back to the beginning of time where there were thousands of Jews and then at some point tens of thousands to Jews that were living in the country full stop and obviously the United States of America being A PROTESTANT COUNTRY SO obviously to be a Jew and it was not an easy thing to do and they fought and then when the Huska came in the 1850s they fought tooth and nail they fought tooth and nail you didn't like Rabbi Gerishim Satishius who if you know you know he's the rabbi of the republican uh of the revolutionary war who we mentioned earlier Abraham rice who's the precisha who's a rabbi in the 1840s 1850s in Baltimore. Morris Rafal who was a rabbi in New York City you know we mentioned Dr. Bernardi Loi their unsung heroes the mysterious nephesh they had to plant the earliest seeds this was like the foundation beneath the foundation but at the end of the day when Jews immigrated to America in the 19th century as much as it was to be a yid but there was an orthodox Jewish infrastru yeah yeah maybe there weren't schools it wasn't perfect we all know that but at the same time there was a lot of infrastructure and when you read their stories and you read the fight that they fought it's absolutely incredible and one of the themes that I've seen in all these sermons not just from Rabi Lo some of the other Raban we mentioned and others as well is that they were trying to express to their congregants and tried to spin what was going on in America you know for the good on the one hand America was was a dangerous place the freedom came with a lot of sakono but at the same time it came with a lot of opportunity because for the first time almost in forever the Jew was bound by the first amendment which is religious of freedom and if he wanted to practice his religion and to be a yid it was something that he was very much allowed to do. And these Rabanim in their sermons would explain to the you don't realize what you have. You don't understand what your brethren in Europe are dealing with. You don't realize what a gift that you were given. And July 4th was a symbol for the Jew as religious freedom. We don't appreciate it so much today because there's religious freedom pretty much in the entire world. But in a world where there was no religious freedom, July 4th was a day, it was a symbol of religious freedom. And that's very much the spirit of this incredible epic sermon. that Rabbi Loie gave just as a a postcript. How did Rabbi Loy's story end? So he passed away on June 20th in the year 18 71. Reading from Dr. Sherman's book, Elo's life was brought to an untimely end through a sudden violent accident. On June 20th, 1871, he traveled to nearby Lebanon. So this is Lebanon, Ohio, in order to pay his taxes. While riding home with his youngest son, the axle of his buggy broke off, throwing him and his son to the ground. The child was not hurt and immediately ran for assistance. Eloey, however, was taken to a nearby residence of a friend where several physicians attended his injuries. The fall had apparently dislocated a vertebrae near the neck, causing him near total paralysis. The following day, Wednesday, June 21st, 1871, he expired after 24 hours of intense pain. He passed away on Gimmel Tamas of the year 1871. And in a very sad ironic twist, a man whose legacy is known from the Muscovi duck, a sugotraus. He died from a dislocated vertebrae. He died from one of the more prominent traus that I mentioned, the sugia of aotraus. Either way, D vice be cavern.