Is America Losing Its Soul? | Rabbi Meir Soloveichik
Which was more important to the creation of the West: Athens or Jerusalem? Is America a covenantal nation? Explore these questions and many more in our latest episode of The Larry Arnn Show, where Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn interviews Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel in Manhattan. Learn what George Washington thought about religious toleration, what America’s ideals represent, and how we can recover those ideals.
This interview was conducted on February 10, 2026.
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Discover more at podcast.hillsdale.edu.
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Timecodes:
0:00 Introduction: Rabbi Soloveichik
1:08 What Does a Rabbi Do? The Oldest Jewish Congregation in America
2:28 George Washington's Letters to the Jews: Toleration vs. Equality
6:36 Washington's Biblical Vision: The Exodus & the American Founding
9:18 Rabbi Sacks: America as a Covenantal Nation
11:59 Jews in America vs. Jews in Europe: Full Equality in the Public Square
15:16 The Four Revolutions: Why the American Revolution Succeeded
19:20 The Jews as an Ancient People: Survival & Covenant
22:06 The End of Everything: What Carthage, Rome & Jerusalem Teach Us
27:17 What Is Civilization? Athens, Jerusalem & the Two Pillars of the West
46:27 Jefferson, Adams & Which Foundation Matters Most: Reason or Revelation?
57:09 Aristotle's Ethics, Wonder & What the Bible Offers That Aristotle Cannot
1:00:51 America at 250: The Covenantal Story & What We Must Not Forget
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