Voices of Freedom - Interview with Rabbi Meir Soloveichik

Episode Date: April 30, 2026

An Interview with Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, Scholar, Rabbi, and Senior Fellow, Tikvah At a time when faith is increasingly viewed as something to be kept out of public life, one of America's most compelling Jewish scholars and public intellectuals is making the opposite case — that religious liberty is not merely tolerated in America but is essential to its founding character and constitutional order. Our guest on this episode of Voices of Freedom is Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York — the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States — and Director of the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. A Senior Fellow at Tikvah and a scholar who has lectured at the Vatican and at Christian institutions across America and Europe, Rabbi Soloveichik brings both rigorous scholarship and the natural authority of a congregational rabbi to the most urgent questions about faith, freedom, and the American experiment. His most recent book, Providence and Power: Ten Portraits in Jewish Statesmanship, explores the qualities of moral courage and virtue that great leaders have drawn from faith across centuries. Rabbi Soloveichik is also a 2026 Bradley Prize winner. Topics Discussed on this Episode: Rabbi Soloveichik's path from a distinguished rabbinic family to Princeton, the synagogue, and the public square What America's oldest Jewish congregation reveals about the relationship between faith and the American Founding The resurgence of antisemitism in the West and what it tells us about the fragility of freedom The case for religious liberty as essential — not incidental — to America's constitutional order What it means to receive a Bradley Prize

Hello and welcome to Voices of Freedom, a Bradley Foundation podcast. I'm Rick Graber, President and CEO of the Bradley Foundation. On the podcast, we'll explore issues that affect our freedoms with a focus on free enterprise, free speech, and educational freedom. So let's get started. At a time when faith is increasingly viewed as something to be kept out of public life, one of America's most compelling Jewish scholars and public intellectuals is making the opposite case that religious liberty is not merely tolerated in America,

but essential to its founding character and constitutional order. Our guest today has spent his career at the intersection of Jewish thought, the Western tradition, and the American founding. And he brings to that work both rigorous scholarship and the natural authority of a congregational rabbi. He's lectured in the Vatican and at Christian colleges and universities and universities, universities across the United States and in Europe. He served on the Department of Justice's Religious Liberty Commission and on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

He courageously and consistently resists and corrects those who would seek to promote prejudice in society, particularly in this unfortunate moment during which we have seen a resurgence of anti-Semitism in the West. Rabbi Meyer Sulevates. is the rabbi of Congregation Sheriath Israel in New York, the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States, and director of the Strauss Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. He's a senior fellow at Tikva, which is dedicated to preserving and advancing the foundational ideas of Jewish history and Western civilization.

His most recent book, Providence in Power, 10 portraits in Jewish statesmanship explores the qualities of moral courage and virtue that great leaders have drawn from faith across centuries. Rabbi Solovecic, who prefers to be called Sally, is also a 2026 Bradley Prize winner. Sally, welcome to voices of freedom. It is wonderful to have you.

Thank you, Rick. It's a joy to speak with you today. Sally, let's talk about you first. You grew up in a distinguished rabbinic family. Your great uncle was Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, who was one of the most influential Jewish thinkers of the 20th century. You went on to earn a Ph.D. in religion at Princeton before entering the rabbinette. How did that formation, family, faith, the academy, shaped the kind of scholar and rabbi you've become? Thank you, Rick. It's a very meaningful question, and I'm grateful for it. And it could be answered both intellectually and personally.

So I'll attempt to briefly do both. First intellectually, my grandfather and his eldest brother, Rabbi Joseph Salavajic, my grandfathers are by Aaron Soloveitch. Both grew up in their youth in the traditional rabbinic Jewish enclave of Eastern Europe. And that meant that they were brought up to delve intellectually into the wealth of Torah and Talmudic wisdom that has embodied the corpus of Jewish engagement throughout the centuries. But each one of them, each in their own way,

then engaged the larger world, first intellectually in their own studies and then in their writings and their teachings. And thereby taught me and countless others that they understood their role as religious leaders to involve the obligation, to not only perpetuate their faith to the next generation, though, of course, that is their central obligation,

but also to speak to the larger world and to communicate the wisdom of their faith tradition to the larger world. And they each did it differently than the other. My great uncle went from Eastern Europe to Berlin and studied philosophy, did a PhD in philosophy at the University of Berlin, at a time when Berlin was the center of art and culture

and science and philosophy, and then went on to America to lead much of post-war Jewish orthodoxy and to make the case for traditional faith in that world, as well as through his writings,

to describe what it means to be a person of faith in the modern world. So amongst his writings, even as he would reference all the rabbis of the Talmud and Maimonides and so many other great Jewish figures,

you'd also see references to Kant and Kirkegaard and Rudolph Otto. And my grandfather was very different. My grandfather grew up similarly but arrived in America at a much younger age. He was the baby brother and the family. And he was much more American in upbringing. Actually went to law school. And though he never practiced, he was always in love with the American founding and the American idea. And so I grew up with him.

He was the towering figure in my life. My great uncle was already unwell when I was growing up. And in Torah speeches and lectures that I would hear from my grandfather, of course I would hear the wealth of Jewish tradition reference, but I would also hear references not to Kant and Kierigard, but to Adams and Jefferson and to my grandfather's description of the biblical foundations of the Declaration of Independence. and that had an enormous impact on me as a Jew, as a future rabbi, and as an American. So that's the intellectual portion of it. But just to briefly add, growing up with my grandfather also taught me what it means to be called to sacrifice for your faith. My grandfather, late in life, suffered a very terrible stroke, which was terribly debilitating.

And incredibly, even as he lived the rest of his life in constant pain, he not only continued to teach, he actually commuted every week from his home in Chicago to New York. And the New York Times did a story on it because it was just so incredible. And I would help my grandfather when I was a student in New York

go back to the airport. And I'll never forget, just I got for them meeting all sorts of people who knew very little or nothing about the Talmudic text that he was traveling to lecture about. But they were so inspired by seeing a man of faith continue to do everything he could physically and spiritually to continue to

perpetuate that faith. And so I'm not exaggerating when I say that for all the ways in which I've learned from my grandfather's writings and my granduncle's writings and their lectures and their speeches, in a certain sense I learned as much, if not more, just by being in the presence of such a man, Just being with him not on the lecture hall, but in Newark Airport, that indelibly impressed itself on my mind with memories that will never leave me and accompany me through my own life in the rabbinets in ways that are almost impossible to fully express. Incredible. Incredible memories. Now, there's a Bradley Foundation connection here. As I understand it, you were a student of Robbie George, who is now the senior director of the Bradley

Foundation. What was Robbie's role in all this? So, you know, I actually had the wonderful opportunity of describing all I owe to Robbie in a very unusual setting. Robbie was honored by the Catholic Information Center and he was allowed to pick one student to introduce him and give a tribute to him. So he asked me. So you have to imagine, I'm coming to Washington and it's all of Catholic Washington. I'm sitting next to Justice Alito. And I get up there and I say, say, you know, when Robbie asked me to speak, I immediately said yes because I do whatever Robbie asked me to do, but I didn't really know what kind of event this was. So after I agreed, I read a little more and I saw that it was the new evangelization event of the Catholic Information

Center. And I thought to myself, this has a Ramirez Soloveitchie written all over it. That was my opening. And then I got to speak about what it means to have Robbie George as a teacher. And I actually think I quoted my grandfather. My grandfather once spoke about how the Jewish initial Jewish encounter with Sinai and the law comes at Sinai in the meeting of the burning bush where you meet a fire that burns but does not consume. And the point my grandfather said is that the fire of faith has the qualities of a flame in the sense that it warms and enlightens. But it does not burn. It does destroy. And so I think I said either there or perhaps at an event in Princeton where I was also able to give a tribute to Robbie or perhaps elsewhere because it always struck me that this was a

great way to describe Robbie, that this was a man who in the very center of Ivy League academia who would make the case for the greatest traditions of law and faith and how those two intertwined. But he would do it always with warmth in a way that brightened. and with brilliance in a way that enlightens. He represents and embodies the fire of faith and intellect that does not consume or destroy, but that enriches all those that encounter it. And that's what Robbie was for me as a teacher.

And then, of course, Robbie was just so central to my own introduction to the larger world of faith, so that if, as you very kindly described, I ended up speaking at the Vatican or at gatherings of faith communities, so much of that is because of Robbie George. The greatest tribute you can give to him is that he is not only an excellent teacher, he is a teacher who sees his students' accomplishments as his accomplishments. Yes. And that, I think, is the greatest tribute you can give to him.

any teacher. Absolutely. Well said. Let's touch on a topic that you alluded to. In 2012, you became rabbi of congregation, Sheridan, Israel, which is the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States, founded before the American Revolution. What has leading your congregation taught you about the deep relationship between the Jewish people and the American experiment? live with the stories of the Jews of the American Revolution is to be struck by two separate facets of this incredible tale. The first is the worldview of these Jews. These were individuals that had come from all over the world to America

and were loyal to the revolution, saw themselves as fighting for equality, but they were also fighting for a world in which they would achieve equality as they understood it, which is to be accepted as fully American and fully Jewish without having to amputate their faith and their traditions from themselves when they entered the public square. They were not seeking freedom and equality

the way some Jews may have been offered it in, say, secular post-revolutionary France. They wanted to be, and they had started to be, and they asserted that the American ideals of liberty and equality demanded that they be accepted as both fully American and fully Jewish with but one enhancing the other. So a member of my congregation during the American Revolution was a man named Isaac Moses. You can look him up. He was one of the most prominent privateer in the American Revolution. He funded privateering ships on behalf of the Continental Congress. So according to one story, when the British landed in New York,

in the Battle of Kipps Bay, September 1776, it was a Shabbat. And so his life would have been forfeit if he had been captured. We're being interviewed today on the day that King Charles is visiting the White House, so maybe it's a bit of a sensitive subject

for us to be talking about this. Hopefully, hopefully it's okay. And so he needed to flee, but since it was Shabbat, he couldn't travel. And so he waited at the outskirts of town hiding at a farm, on the outskirts of revolutionary New York,

until the sun set, and then he fled to follow Washington, ultimately to Philadelphia. So you're a man who's fully a part of the revolution, but loyal to Jewish law. To study the stories of my congregation is also the study of how, when New York was debating whether to ratify the Constitution, something that the Jews of New York ardently supported,

and they scheduled a parade in support of ratification, on a Jewish day of morning and fasting, the Jews said, we'd like you to move this. And because we want to also support the Constitution, but we can't engage in festivities on a day of morning. And there's maybe 200 Jews in New York, Rick, at this time. And it was moved. And it was called, as somebody else wrote,

a great tribute shown the Jews. So these are Jews that fight for America, that build America, but also are fully loyal to their faith, and the traditions of their ancestors. So that's one side of the story. But the other side of the story, Rick, is the way in which these demands

were embraced by the non-Jews of America in a way that is utterly unlike the history of the West anywhere else on Earth, not just in the 18th century, in the 19th century. Benjamin Rush describes the parade celebrating July 4th, celebrating the Constitution, Philadelphia 17, 8, and he writes at the parade feature

all the clergy of the clergy of the city, including, and these are his words, something like, the rabbi of the Jews walking with the ministers of the gospel arm and arm. And then a Jewish witness who was there remembered what is for Jews, of course, one of the most important features, which is food. And so he describes that then at the party that was held in the public square in Philadelphia, there's a special kosher table. 1788.

Now I know at the Bradley Prize event, there's going to be, I've already been told a special kosher buffet. Absolutely. I very much appreciate that. But 1788, you wouldn't have had that in Europe in 1888. And so the other side of the story is the warmth with which they were embraced, not despite their Judaism, but in a certain sense, admiration of it. And that, to me, is part of what makes the story so special. very special back to you a little bit sally i mean one figure who certainly shaped your development

as a public intellectual was rabbi lord jonathan sacks himself a bradley prize winner i remember his speech well did you learn from him about how a religious leader engages in the broader world of ideas and was there a moment in time and maybe it was your family influence but was there a moment when you knew that you wanted to enter national conversations yourself, it takes more than a little courage. So, Rabbi Sachs, whom I miss very much, as someone was whom I was privileged to spend some time, I did many public events with him in America

where I interviewed him before large audiences, but a variety of subjects. I've interviewed him about Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. I've interviewed him about Passover, about the American idea. I've interviewed him about a number of different things, and I was able to spend, thank God, a lot of time with him. But I was also able to see him in Europe, in his role as chief rabbi, and as a member of Britain's House of Lords.

Rabbi Sachs really had two huge roles. One was as a brilliant teacher of Torah to the Lord. the larger Jewish world. But then, and I was able to witness this, he took on a role that is truly historic in terms of Jewish history, which is that he became the great defender of faith, not of Judaism in particular, but of faith in general, in Europe. At times it seemed that he was the great voice for faith in Europe. You mentioned an introduction that I was at the Vatican. So this was an event, a conference, an interfaith conference on the traditions pertaining to the family. And I did speak there.

And Robbie was there. But the unforgettable aspect of this event was served by Sax's speech. So I'm speaking to cardinals, theologians, faith leaders from a variety of faith communities. and he was describing just what the biblical concept of the family meant to the world. And he ended, a rabbi in the Vatican. It sounds like the beginning of a joke, a rabbi walks into the Vatican, right? But it ended with a standing ovation from all these faith leaders. And so when he passed away, the loss was made all the more egregious that it was during

the height of COVID. And so a man whose impact should have been marked with a funeral that featured the then Prince of Wales, religious leaders, was some 10 people in a cemetery live stream.

I was asked by the Wall Street Journal that week to write to pay tribute to him. And I wrote about that moment in the Vatican and what it meant to see him speak in Europe, or as I put it, something like in the continent

once known as Christendom, there was a rabbi who was reminding everyone how to speak about what they all believed. I concluded the piece by saying when came to his role as a Jewish teacher, yes, the loss is terrible,

but we have all his writings. We have all that he taught us, and we can continue to study that. But for the future of the defense of faith in Europe, he may well be irreplaceable. And so for me, he always embodied what it meant to defend faith when few others were rising to the occasion. Regarding your second question, as I mentioned before, there's no, there's, it's absolutely true that my greatest inspiration, I think, came from my grandfather, who was always fearless in entering the national conversation. If there was a moment, I guess for me, that really marked the taking of a step.

I think it would be when I testified in front of the House Oversight Committee about the religious liberty, dangers to religious liberty posed by the health care mandate of the so-called Affordable Care Act. And I actually spoke about two separate things in my testimony. One was the danger to religious liberty, not specifically of Jewish organizations, but actually the opposite of the danger that was posed to Catholic and evangelical schools and hospitals, universities. And I also spoke about the case that was being made by the administration for this infringement, which to me was even more shocking because what the administration was actually arguing was that any organization that engages people beyond their own faith were not acting in a religious capacity. So, for example, actual nuns called Little Sisters of the Poor,

because they were helping everyone, were considered beyond the protections of the First Amendment. And I argued to Congress that what's happening here is not just an infringement of religion, a redefining, it's not just an infringement of religious freedom, it's a redefining of what religion is, because of course religion impacts how we engage the larger world, how we heal the sick, how we help the poor. And I remember sitting at that table, you know, if you're a 35-year-old rabbi and never done anything like that, it's, it is a bit scary. And you're sitting next to it. It is. An archbishop in his 60s, and you're wondering, you know, like that meme on the internet, record scratch. This is me. You might be wondering, how did I get here? And it was a very contentious moment, as you can imagine, and it ended up figuring in all sorts of debates during the election. But I truly felt it was important, again, not because Jewish religious liberty was so endangered at that moment, but rather, because Jews have benefited so greatly from the American vision of religious.

liberty. It was so important for Jewish religious leaders to stand up when the rights of other Americans of faith were being threatened. And so for me, I think that was, if I had to pick one moment of entering the public fray, it would be that. Yes. Let's turn to a difficult and painful current topic, but one I think we have to address on this episode. And that is that anti-Semitism has risen sharply across the Western world in recent years. I don't think that's debatable on campuses, on politics, and mainstream discourse. And you've addressed this with moral clarity and historical depth. But what does this resurgence reveal to you about the fragility of the freedoms we've taken for granted for so long?

So it's been very difficult three years. Yes. Though I think it is important to add, and it's a point I try to make as I speak about the difficulties, that I continue to be inspired by the many non-Jewish Americans that have stood with the Jewish people at this time and the genuine warmth and love that I have received from Christian Americans, sometimes in the most expected and sometimes in the most unexpected of ways. I travel a great deal. I speak to Christian audiences a great deal.

And the warmth that I have received is a feature of American life today that I remain profoundly grateful for. That said, it has been very, very difficult. And what I've attempted to do in my own speeches and writings about it is to attempt to describe it and explain it, both for Jewish audiences and for non-Jewish audiences, and to attempt to impact the way we speak about it. The temptation, and this is not entirely incorrect, is to speak about the way in which Jew hatred just doesn't go away.

And that's certainly true. But that's not enough when we speak about what we're seeing right now. And here, our conversation really connects back to our discussion about the exceptional way in which Jews have experienced America. Why were Jews so warmly welcomed in the United States from the very beginning?

It's not just because of, of the robust American ideal of religious liberty for all, though of course it is in part because of that. It's also because of the way in which America and early Americans saw themselves. American exceptionalism, I've attempted to argue, is bound up with parallels that they saw to biblical Israel. Benjamin Franklin's suggestion for the seal of the United States

was Moses and Pharaoh at the splitting of the sea, the exodus scene with the motto rebellion to Tyro. obedience to God. And what I've attempted to not only argue, but also to ask other Jews to argue as they speak about this in the public square, is that what we're seeing is not merely about Jews, that this hatred is bound up with hatred of America itself. But when you see the mobs celebrate the murder of Jews on the quads of elite educational institutions, or in city streets, they're not waving American flags patriotically as they're doing so.

We see American flags being desecrated when this is happening. So in a striking way, actually, the exceptional story of the Jews in America is linked in part to the exceptional way in which America has always seen itself. And deep down, those that hate the Jews understand this. Or as everybody Sachs put it, He said, America in Israel, ancient and modern,

are the supreme examples of nations founded in conscious pursuit of an idea or of countries founded in conscious pursuit of an idea. And so this hatred is about, and wherever we see it, and whatever point on the spectrum, it manifests itself, where you see hatred of Jews,

you will see in some way hatred of the exceptional nature of America. Yes. whether it's focused on the way America conducted itself in the founding or America got itself later in its history. But if you look carefully, you will see anti-Americanism. And so what we have to make the case to America is that this is not just about us. I often cite one of my favorite stories, which is in one of my favorite books, David McCull's biography of Harry Truman.

And the turning point in the book is when Truman is rushed from the Capitol to the White House, where, you know, as vice president, he didn't spend much time. And he's rushed into the room, and Eleanor Roosevelt is sitting there. And Eleanor Roosevelt says to Truman, she says, Harry, the president is dead. And he doesn't really compute what that means for him. And he says, is there anything I can do for you? and she says, is there anything I can do for you? For you are the one who's in trouble now. So since October 7, 2023,

I've heard from many leaders and others beyond the Jewish world. And the sentiment is wonderful and so appreciated. And it often is, what can we do for you? And it means more than I can say when that happens. But what I want to reply is, actually we, you, I, we, Americans, we are the ones who's in trouble now. If this can go on in America. And that's why it has to be contended against, because what's at stake is not just the future of Jews in America or in the free world.

What's at stake is the well-being of the American policy itself. Couldn't agree more. Let's take a short look forward. You've said many times that a rabbi is above all a teacher. And as you look ahead to your students, to your congregation, the next generation of Americans, what do you most want them to understand about the relationship between faith, freedom, and the future of the American experiment? What I try to express is that the uniqueness of America and its fusion of faith and freedom

is not to be taken for granted. Lincoln referred to America with a fascinating phrase. He called it, this almost chosen people. He said that on the way to his inauguration, he stopped in Trenton, New Jersey. He described how excited he was to be there, or as I say, he was the first person in all of American history to be excited to be in Trent in New Jersey. And he was excited because he had grown up reading Parson Weems' biography of Washington. And he knew the story of the crossing of the Delaware.

And so he said that I remember then, boy, even though I was, that it was more than independence alone that these men fought for. But for that's something that will be a blessing to all the world for all time. And then he went on to speak about his obligation to this almost chosen people. So what does he mean in almost chosen people? He's obviously alluding to, again, biblical Israel and to America, the unique way in which it is full. founded around the set of ideas. So why does he call it almost chosen? It's an enigmatic and intriguing

phrase. And the point, I think, as I understand it, is that America is an exceptional nation, a covenantal nation, because of the way it was founded and because of the fealty to the ideas of the founding that were maintained. But that fealty is not guaranteed. You see, when you have a chosen nation, like in the Bible, that chosen nation can fail its covenantal founding a lot. And spoiler alert, if you haven't read the Bible, they do a lot. Fail. They worship a golden calf 40 days after their covenantal founding. So it happens all the time.

But when God makes a promise, as a theologian on whom I wrote my dissertation, a person put it, that's like money in the bank. In other words, God doesn't revoke his promises. America is exceptional, but that exceptional nature is not guaranteed. It's up to us to maintain it. That's what it means to be almost chosen. And so that means that it's either revitalized and renewed or it is lost. Spain, let's say, or if we want to take a country,

has gone through different forms of government, even in recent history. Not long ago, it wasn't a democracy. France is, I think, now the fifth republic, right? There were a lot of non-Republican forms of government in the interim. But at every point, it was France. At every point, it was Spain. If the Congress would vote, if the Congress of the United States would vote by two-thirds vote, and it was affirmed by three-fourths of the legislatures,

that they are amending the Constitution just to declare an American, longer believes that all men are created equal, that they're no longer endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. We can still call ourselves the United States of America, but I don't think we would actually be America. And that means that American exceptionalism is both exceptional, but also fragile. Yes. And part of being grateful for America, and I hope to speak a little bit about this in my Bradley Prize speech, is to feel the obligation to perpetuate its ideals, to safeguard those ideals.

And that's what it means to be an almost chosen nation. And I try to communicate that to my congregants, especially in this year as we prepared for America's 250th. As I retold and lectures the stories of members of our congregation of the Jews of the American Revolution. and it's the case I tried to make as I've spoken around America to both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences. Beautifully said.

Last question, Sally. What does it mean to you to receive a Bradley Prize? To receive the prize in any year would be enormously humbling because now I'm linked to the visionaries and the thinkers and the leaders that have been awarded the prize. But it's especially and profoundly poignant to be given the prize this year

as we prepare to mark the 250th anniversary of the founding. Part of what makes the Bradley Foundation so important is that its leaders are not only dedicated to celebrating American, and exceptionalism, but also to ensuring that education in America continues to teach what is so special about America. And as I hope to express in my 10-minute address, which I think will itself make it historic because we'll witness a rabbi keeping to the time limit that was placed upon him.

Go to 11. Whoa, that's important. We got this recorded. We got this recorded, right? Okay, I'm going to make a note of that. I'm going to make a note of that. I think I told you offline that when I was so, I've been going through different Bradley Prize speeches to prepare for the event. And it's every one of them has been wonderful. But for me, both a delight, but also poignant and a little sad, was to watch her by Sacks. But I was wondering how he would deal with the time. limit. And he kept to it. But he did voice the difficulty, the challenge that the Bradley Foundation laid upon him at the beginning of the talk. In that, I'm going to say now 11 minutes, I hope to speak about with the four generations of my family represented there, how central perpetuation is to the preservation of liberty. And this understanding lies at the heart of the mission of the Bradley Foundation. And so to be given the prize this year, to participate in the ceremony this year on America's 250th, that makes it symbolically sublime. And I'm so profoundly grateful for this gift. You're very welcome. Rabbi Meyer-Soloveitchik, thanks so much for spending some time with us today.

And thank you for your courage, your wisdom, and your good humor. We deeply appreciate it. We look forward to celebrating in a few short days. with you and your family at the Bradley Prizes. Thank you, Rick, and I'm more grateful than I could say. And as always, thanks to all of you for joining us on this episode of Voices of Freedom. Join us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts for our next conversation on issues impacting our freedom and America's foundational principles. And make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode.

I'm Rick Graber, and this is a Bradley. Foundation podcast.