250 years of American Jewish life is a miracle. Don’t take it for granted.
When I moved from Belgium to the United States for graduate school in the early 2000s, international-student orientation warned me about three areas in which I would experience culture shock: doctors, dating, and food. They…
Assessment
The piece frames 250 years of American Jewish continuity as a miracle, while the author's own culture shock story hints at how easily that miracle can be overlooked. The warning against taking it for granted suggests that comfort and assimilation may erode the very conditions that made that longevity possible. Readers should watch for how the author connects personal dislocation to communal gratitude.