Why Judaism Flourished in America

What’s said in this shiur

The opening of this shiur, in Hidabroot - Torah & Judaism’s own words— taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.

We'll talk about July 4th and the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. You see I get my tuition's worth in Yeshiva. And there's a lot of discussion now study, analysis about the state of the Jewish people in America, how Golus America has been for the Jewish people. There's no question that on the one hand it's been the greatest haven that the Jewish people ever had in the Golus. Uh certainly surpasses even the Golden Age of Spain. Both in terms of the spiritual heights that we were able to climb to and even the in a way the economic success we're able to achieve. So the question that a lot of a lot of people are thinking about is how do you account for the great success that America has provided the Jewish people more than like what were the ingredients of the United States of America that allowed for the success of Jewish communities more than any other place in the world? So >> Spanish community here? >> Yeah, much more than in Spain. Doesn't even compare. The Golden Age of Spain is is basically a misnomer. It was like a few a few years of reprieve between brutal persecution. Obviously the main ingredient in in America is that you have a freedom of religion. Uh in a unprecedented way. Part of that, aside from freedom of religion even though technically speaking the United States of America is a Christian country it has never been a very observant Christian country. So on the one hand we have absolute freedom of religion and there's no official religion of the country.

Jump to a moment

1. 0:00We'll talk about July 4th and the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. You…
2. 1:00great success that America has provided the Jewish people more than like what were the ingredients…
3. 2:01So, we're not really bombarded with uh being persecuted by other religions. So, the first The…
4. 3:03you're capped, you're taxed, you're limited, you're you're mitigated. So, I think the it's not only…
5. 4:04was his kavana to build Torah, but that may you know, maybe we could observe that…
6. 5:05and 5-day work week. I don't know, what do you say? Huh. In terms of uh…
7. 6:05because they were focused on the cultural Judaism. And look what happened to their descendants. And…
8. 7:08part. But, the cultural Judaism comes plays out in, you know, Kiddush club or talking by…
9. 8:08of focus of what the purpose of life is and what the purpose of Judaism is.…
10. 9:11u'Mitzvos because of that decision to adhere not to cultural Judaism, to adhere to halakhic Judaism.…

About Hidabroot - Torah & Judaism on Lehallel

4,919 approved videos from 2015 to 2026, 4,312 of them searchable by their own words. Open all of Hidabroot - Torah & Judaism’s shiurim →

Most played

A Miracle on the Flight from Dubai ✈️2:58 · 347K views · Sep 30The Script Of Redemption: Is Persia Falling?1:23 · 233K views · Mar 2Rosh Hashanah 2026 Falls on Shabbat—Is That a Warning? Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff | Living Inspired35:16 · 198K views · Sep 7

More from Hidabroot - Torah & Judaism

How Can You Feel Blessed When Life Is So Hard? Rabbi YY Jacobson1:17:01 · 1.1K views · Nov 5The Candy That Looked Like Enriched Uranium - Rabbi Moshe Chaim0:40 · 1.3K views · Nov 4What Makes a Life Truly Good? Rabbi Dovid Kaplan47:32 · 564 views · Nov 4When Your Prayers Seem to Go Nowhere - Rabbi Avi Weissenfeld0:38 · 1.2K views · Nov 4What AI Can’t Replace1:01 · 1.1K views · Nov 4Your Prayer Matter More Than You Think!1:00 · 1.3K views · Nov 4

More on this topic, from other speakers

Come on and Ride the Train: The Kastner Story Part VIIJewish History Soundbites · 1:09:47 · 144 views · Jan 17A Historic Campaign: The Chofetz Chaim Sefer TorahJewish History Soundbites · 33:20 · 32 views · May 16The Maharal of PragueJewish History Soundbites · 28:30 · 464 views · Apr 3, 2022Come on and Ride the Train: The Kastner Story Part IIIJewish History Soundbites · 59:56 · 242 views · Dec 20, 2025