Four hundred years ago, in November 1620, the pilgrims of the “Mayflower” landed on Plymouth Rock, which they considered the modern day Promised Land. They were inspired by the Bible in general and the Mosaic legacy in particular, which feature a civic covenant, cohesive peoplehood, a 12-tribe governance, and a shared vision.
The House of Representatives Building and the East Portico of the US Capitol. Photo: Flickr.
They planted the seeds of the Federalist Papers, the 1776 American revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the overall US cultural and political and justice systems. These seeds vaulted the US to the leadership of the free world, economically, technologically, scientifically, educationally, and militarily. The pilgrims of the Mayflower viewed themselves as “modern day Biblical Israelites,” seeking freedom from the bondage of the “British Pharaoh,” King James I. They sought Biblical-driven liberty, planting the roots of the uniquely thriving, mutually-beneficial kinship between the US and the Jewish people and Israel.