When I was growing up, I could not wait for the 4th of July.  I loved firing off fireworks.  Yes, I was a bit of a pyro in my youth.  The fireworks were fun to watch.  But it was the lighting I really liked.

The main way we celebrate Independence day in the United States is with fireworks.  Some might say it is a bbq too.  However, plenty of people don’t bbq.  They go to a ball game and watch the fireworks that follow.  Or they go to a fair or concert that has a fireworks show after.  Have you ever wondered why fireworks are the main focus of our Independence day ritual?  I never did.  I just figured that they were fun to watch.

In 2001, I moved to Israel.  This was during the first 6 months of the second intifada, and I was there during the heaviest fighting.  Yes, suicide bombers blew themselves and I heard the explosions.  Yes, I regularly walked past places that had been bombed, and seen the destroyed buildings… and watched them get rebuilt.  And at night, because sound travels so well at night, I would hear the gunshots going off in Jenin when Israel responded by going into Jenin to try and stop the bombers.

I never thought much about hearing gunshots at night; it was happening far away from me.  Until one 4th of July I was visiting my mom.  It was a Friday night and I was singing in Shabbat (the Jewish sabbath) and praying.  Traditionally, this is done starting at sunset, and it is dark by the time I finish.  Of course, this being Independence day, as soon as it gets dark enough, people start shooting off their fireworks.

So, here I am davvening (praying), when I suddenly hear firecrackers and explosions from the big, canon fireworks.  However, I can’t turn to watch them, as I am busy praying.  But I do hear them, and they sound just like the gunfire I would hear at night in Jerusalem – the gunfire coming from Jenin.  And it suddenly dawns on me what the fireworks, the cornerstone of our Independence day celebration in the United States, is all about:  it is about military victory.  It is about simulating war.

Afterwards, it got me thinking:  is this they way I would want to celebrate my independence, through a show of violence?  Am I truly independent if my independence relies upon military prowess?  Or is there another, more appropriate way to celebrate freedom?  Perhaps by celebrating all the choices I have made in my life, choices that I could not have even considered if I were not free.  If a whole nation celebrated their freedom that way, I wonder how it would look, and how it would change the approach such a country would have in its dealings with the rest of the world.  What do you think?

About the Author

Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.