Since their
arrival in America, Jews have faced the difficulty
of maintaining a separate group identity
in an open society that embraced them as
equals. Nineteenth-century efforts to unify
American Jews around a common liturgical
rite failed. However apart Jews stood, they
resisted religious uniformity as much as
their fellow Christians did. Over time, the
Jewish community became ever more diverse,
particularly as the Conservative and Reconstructionist branches of Judaism emerged in the twentieth
century, joining the more established Orthodox and Reform movements, all of which subsequently
broadened still further.
The
nature of American society, with its acceptance
of religious diversity, provided America's
Jews with an unprecedented sense of security
and safety. The feeling of being “at
home” in America has varied from immigrant
wave to immigrant wave, and even from person
to person. By 1950, most American Jews were
native-born, and a great many had participated
in two world wars, experienced the Great
Depression, witnessed the Holocaust and
its aftermath, and supported the establishment of
the State
of Israel. In these post-World
War II years,
Jews became a vital force in the political
process, demonstrated on behalf of oppressed
co-religionists abroad and civil rights at
home, and played a significant role in the
cultural life of the nation. This series
of transformative events — along with
a fully developed network of religious and
voluntary organizations — contributed
to a shift in the Jewish perception of America
from a safe “haven” to
a true “home.”
Influenced by the pluralism
of American society that encouraged diversity
and multiple associations, the American Jewish
community rapidly became internally pluralistic,
establishing multiple religious movements,
cultural affiliations, and advocacy groups
to meet individual and communal needs. This
pluralism is well reflected in the profusion
of American haggadot, the home ritual used
at the Passover seder.
Hundreds of American editions of the haggadah
have appeared, from traditional to innovative
and reflecting a full range of religious,
cultural, and political positions. The very
first American haggadah appeared in New York
in 1837 and included the declaration that
it was the “First American Edition,” implying,
correctly, that many more editions would
follow. Through these haggadot one can trace
the journey of America's Jews from sojourners
in a temporary haven to citizens at home
in America.