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Our Past in Present Tense
Dr.
Yehuda Shabatay
Washington's
birthday prompts me to look into the early stages of Jewish settlements in
America. When the Revolution broke out in 1775, approximately 2,500 Jews lived
in the 13 colonies, most of whom supported the rebels in the hope of obtaining
full civil rights under their domain. Hundreds of Jews volunteered to serve in
the militias, and numerous Jewish merchants ran the blockades that the British
fleet imposed on the colonial ports.
The most fascinating Jew of that dramatic period was Haym Solomon who was round 30 years of age when he arrived in New York from Poland, shortly before the Revoluti8on began. Since he immediately became involved in providing supplies to the American militias and, at the same time, offered strategic information to them, he was captured as a spy the British and barely escaped with his life. After his release, Salomon helped prisoners free themselves from British captivity. As a result, he had to flee New York and move to Philadelphia, which was safely in the rebels' hands.
In the "City of Brotherly Love," he resumed his European occupation of bill-brokering, namely the purchase and sale of the innumerable currencies that circulated in America in those days. When the Continental Congress issued bills of exchange and bonds, Salomon sold them for Dutch guilders and for French francs that were far more stable currencies than the American ones, keeping only a nominal commission for himself. Furthermore, he gave personal, interest-free loans to the Revolutionary government, as well as to several officials, including Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
In 1781, Haym Salomon became an assistant to Robert Morris, superintendent of the Office of Finance. According to Howard M. Sachar's A History of the Jews in America, Morris's diaries contain appreciative references to the "little broker JIew" for his vital services to the new nation. At about the same time, a grateful Congress appointed Solomon the official "Broker to the Office of Finance of the United States."
It seems, however, that Salomon's magnanimous behavior led to his own financial demise. When he died in 1785, at the age of 45, he may have left enormous debts behind, according to one source as much as $639,000. But, in Howard Sachar's opinion, he was not the only one who became bankrupt as a result of supporting the American rebels: "nearly every Jewish contractor, privateer and financier of note came out of the Revolution with his fortune either gone or painfully diminished."
Washington's birthday also leads me to an analysis of the dollar bill. As we all know, it bears George Washington's portrait on its obverse side and the Great Seal of the United States on its reverse. Does the Great Seal have any symbols that might be of Jewish interest?
The dominant figure that appears on the bill's right hand reverse side shows the American eagle and above it a cluster of 13 stars that represent the original colonies. When we take a good look at those stars we may be surprised to discover that they are arranged in the shape of a six-pointed star, or 'Magen David.' Does that have a Jewish significance? I doubt it, but it certainly gives me some food for thought.
The left hand side of the bill has an obvious relationship with Jewish history. The pyramid, truncated near its top, clearly refers to the Book of Exodus that describes our ancestors' slavery and subsequent liberation from Egypt that resulted in a "new order of the ages," or novus ordo seclorum—as the Great Seal indicates in Latin.
Undoubtedly, the Founding Fathers were very much aware of the Exodus' significance in their own undertaking. In 1776, Benjamin Franklin proposed that the Great Seal should show Moses with his rod lifted and the Egyptian army drowning in the sea. Thomas Jefferson urged a more peaceful design; the column of Israelites marching through the wilderness led by God's pillars of cloud and fire. Although these suggestions were set aside, the pyramid itself is a strong reminder of biblical heritage.
The most intriguing symbol we find on the Great Seal, reproduced on the dollar bill, is the all-seeing eye of Divine Providence, placed on top of the pyramid. Why would God's eye be framed in a triangle? Although I am unable to explain what prompted Charles Thomson, secretary of the Congress, to choose that design, a fascinating parallel comes to my mind.
I recall from my youth how the kohanim (preists) bless the people: they stretch out their fingers indicating three rays emanating from each hand, as symbols of the divine radiance. Their thumbs and index fingers from a triangle through which—tradition says—God's eye looks down on those whom the priests bless. Did anyone tell Mr. Thomson of this ancient Jewish custom, or did he invent the design on his own? I don't know the answer, but I would be interest in finding out.
Haym Salomon and his fellow traders, the army volunteers, and all other Jews, who supported the Revolution, prompted George Washington to send these good wishes to the Jewish congregation at Newport, Rhode Island: "May the children of the stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants, while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig three and there shall be none to make him afraid."
Dr. Yehuda Shabatay received rabbinical training in Budapest, a master of jurisprudence degree from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and his doctorate in Hebrew literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York. He was engaged in Jewish educational administration over most of his career and now teaches Jewish studies and history at Palomar and City College.