Second of three parts.
Re: “The Marriage of Torah and Washington”
Dateline Jerusalem –– One of the iconic symbols of American independence, the Liberty Bell, has stamped on it “Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof.” This is taken from Leviticus in the Torah. Not only do documents and American symbols reflect the influence of Torah and Talmud on America, Jews allegedly played a role in what is featured on American currency. An eagle is on the back of the dollar bill. Stars above the eagle’s head are shaped in a six- pointed Star of David. Turn the eagle upside down and you will see a configuration in the likeness of a menorah. Allegedly, President George Washington insisted on both symbols. He said Americans never should forget the Jewish people and what they had done in the interest of America.
Jewish Contributions
Not only was Washington referring to Torah, but Washington’s Continental Army was financed by Haym Salomon, a Polish immigrant undercover agent for George Washington. Salomon was arrested and sentenced to death, but bribed a guard and escaped. He provided money, relief and aid to stranded American troops at Valley Forge. It turned the course of history because the troops would have perished before they could have defeated the British without Salomon’s help. Salomon died penniless because he used all his assets to aid the Continental Army and save the new American government from financial collapse. He died bankrupt while the U.S. owed him $700,000 in outstanding loans, millions in today’s dollars. The story about Salomon is true, but there is controversy as to whether Washington actually insisted on these Jewish symbols on the dollar to honor Jews. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson included biblical symbols in the original draft of the Great Seal of the United States.
Another Jewish Idea
The judicial, legislative and executive branches of U.S. government delineated in the Constitution comes from Isaiah. The newly formed U.S. government adopted the Hebrew concept of majority rule, from the Torah’s command to “follow the multitude.” Like Jewish practices, while the majority decided matters of law, the minority had a chance to be heard. The Talmud’s Avoda Zara 36a concept of “No legislation should be imposed on the public unless the majority can conform to it” required legislators to consult or consider the opinions of their constituents.
The legislative branch, also known as Congress, consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives, where the people of each district elect one person to represent their views and interests, was a Torah concept in Deuteronomy: “Select for yourselves men who are wise, understanding, and known to your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.” Exodus states “seek out from among all your people, men with leadership ability, G-d fearing men, men of truth who hate injustice.” The Jewish law of “agency” in Talmud’s Kiddushin 59a was the basis for the delegate and trustee concept of representation. The Senate, with two representatives from each state also goes back to the Torah and the 12 tribes. Each tribe had its distinct identity, its own governor, its own judicial system.
The executive branch, represented by the president, is a unitary executive type, unlike a plural executive of prime minister and other ministers of the Knesset in Israel. The president possesses the power to control the entire executive branch, the concept rooted in Article 2 of the Constitution. This vests the executive power of the U.S. in the president. Unitary executive is a Torah principle as evidenced by G-d countermanding Moses’s instruction to Joshua to consult the elders when he was to lead the Jews across the Jordan. In Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin 8a, Jewish law opposes collective leadership. Unlike the other branches of the U.S. government, the president must be a native-born American, not a naturalized citizen. This derives from the principle that a king of Israel must be born of a Jewish mother, not a convert.
(To be continued)
L’hitraot, Shachar