A Tale Of Two Inaugurations
Wednesday, the United States and a large part of the world watched as the US swore in Joe Biden as their 46th president.
In his inaugural address, President Biden spoke about unity:
“To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America requires so much more than words. It requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy: Unity.
“In another January, on New Year’s Day in 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. When he put pen to paper, the president said, and I quote: “If my name ever goes down into history, it’ll be for this act. And my whole soul is in it.”
“My whole soul was in it today. On this January day, my whole soul is in this: Bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation. And I ask every American to join me in this cause.
Uniting to fight the foes we face: anger, resentment, hatred, extremism, lawlessness, violence, disease, joblessness and hopelessness. With unity, we can do great things.”
There is no question that the political discourse has devolved into extreme divisiveness over the last few years, and it’s refreshing to hear from a leader who will do his best to heal the divide rather than fan its flames.
But what does unity even mean? Does it mean that everyone has to conform to the same ideas? Do we have to give up our individuality? Are we required to overlook hate and intolerance in the name of “unity”?
Seventy years ago to the day, on the tenth of Shvat 5711 (Jan 17, 1951), a different inaugural address took place.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson assumed the leadership of the Chabad Lubavitch movement after the passing of his father in law, and in the first public talk he gave after accepting the position, he said the following:
“When my father-in-law, the Rebbe, arrived in America, he quoted the words of the Sages “When you come to a town, follow its customs.” Here in America, people like to hear a “mission statement,” a declaration that is novel and preferably sensational. I don’t know whether there is a need for things to be done in this way, but “when you come to a town, follow its customs.”
“The three loves — the love of G‑d, the love of the Torah, and love toward a fellow Jew — are all one. They are by definition indivisible, like one essence. If a person has a love of G‑d but is without a love of the Torah or love of his fellow Jew, this indicates that something is lacking in his love of G‑d, too. On the other hand, when there is Ahavas Yisrael, then even though this is [merely one] mitzvah, it ultimately leads to a love of the Torah and a love of G‑d.”
Real unity is around a shared goal and a shared purpose. In the context of Ahavat Yisrael (love of your fellow Jew), that shared purpose is Ahavat Hashem (love of G-d) and Ahavat Hatorah (love of the Torah).
I believe that in the context of political unity, the shared purpose is a love of one’s country. When we acknowledge that, at the end of the day, we all want what’s best for the country, we can put aside personal and political differences and work together toward a common goal.
But just as a person can’t have a true love of Hashem if they don’t love their fellow Jew, similarly, if we let patriotism and love of our country get in the way of our respect for others’ humanity and dignity, then our faux patriotism and love of country aren’t real. They’re merely a cover to justify our disdain for the “other.”
Let us take this moment to reflect, put aside our differences, and work together to build a world that is better for all of us.
