Stories of Jewish immigrants throwing their tefillin overboard upon encountering the freedom and promise of life in the United States may be the stuff of legend, but for Mendel Aisenbach, a Chabad-Lubavitch Chasid from the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, N.Y., such tales emphasize an important point: When they approached the Statue of Liberty, many of the tired and poor masses from across Europe – a good portion of them Jewish – pushed their identities to recesses deep inside in the quest to become Americans.
At Statue of Liberty, Jews Embrace Their Heritage
Stories of Jewish immigrants throwing their tefillin overboard upon encountering the freedom and promise of life in the United States may be the stuff of legend, but for Mendel Aisenbach, a Chabad-Lubavitch Chasid from the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, N.Y., such tales emphasize an important point: When they approached the Statue of Liberty, many of the tired and poor masses from across Europe – a good portion of them Jewish – pushed their identities to recesses deep inside in the quest to become Americans.