Columbus Day 2013 is officially observed Monday, October 14th, and like the old comedian Rodney Dangerfield used to say about himself, “it don’t get no respect” – at least not much, which is a shame.? While all but 3 states recognize this federal holiday, it has lost almost all significance to most Americans other than those of Italian descent who celebrate Christopher Columbus’ Italian heritage. That’s a shame, as there is much about the Columbus story to celebrate, whether we judge him to be a hero or a villain.
There is plenty of room for historical debate about who Columbus “really” was and what the “real” costs and benefits of his life’s work were. But fighting about what the right answers to those questions are, has robbed us of the opportunity to see that all of our lives are actually very much like Christopher Columbus’.
Columbus Day is a day to celebrate the spirit of discovery which lies at the heart of most great human achievement. Columbus Day is an opportunity to identify with the spirit that sends us on journeys even though we cannot possibly know their exact destination, or how what we discover will impact our lives. That’s not simply a description of Columbus’ travels to the “New World”, it’s the story of all of our lives.
We may not all be world travelers, or travel under royal charter as Columbus did when we do travel, but we are all on journeys. Like Columbus, life will bring us both unexpected challenges and, hopefully, unanticipated rewards as well. Like Columbus, most of us find ourselves pulled between obligations to those we serve, those for whom we have some measure of responsibility, and our own personal desires.
Rather than fighting about whether or not Columbus was a hero or a villain – a brave discoverer of new worlds, or an arrogant conqueror who brought disease and slavery to otherwise happy indigenous populations – we should focus on the animating energy which helps any of us to trust in the “forward gear” in which we should try and keep our lives.
Listed for many years in Newsweek as one of America’s “50 Most Influential Rabbis” and recognized as one of our nation’s leading “Preachers and Teachers,” by Beliefnet.com, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield serves as the President of Clal–The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a training institute, think tank, and resource center nurturing religious and intellectual pluralism within the Jewish community, and the wider world, preparing people to meet the biggest challenges we face in our increasingly polarized world.
An ordained Orthodox rabbi who studied for his PhD and taught at The Jewish Theological Seminary, he has also taught the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs an ongoing seminar, and American Jewish University. Rabbi Brad regularly teaches and consults for the US Army and United States Department of Defense, religious organizations — Jewish and Christian — including United Seminary (Methodist), Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (Modern Orthodox) Luther Seminary (Lutheran), and The Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) — civic organizations including No Labels, Odyssey Impact, and The Aspen Institute, numerous Jewish Federations, and a variety of communal and family foundations.
Hirschfield is the author and editor of numerous books, including You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism, writes a column for Religion News Service, and appears regularly on TV and radio in outlets ranging from The Washington Post to Fox News Channel. He is also the founder of the Stand and See Fellowship, which brings hundreds of Christian religious leaders to Israel, preparing them to address the increasing polarization around Middle East issues — and really all currently polarizing issues at home and abroad — with six words, “It’s more complicated than we know.”