When the previous Rebbe* arrived in America from Europe, he declared that “America is nisht andersh.” [America is not different than Europe when it comes to Yiddishkeit.]
The attitude was that in America, you cannot keep Yiddishkeit like in the shtetl in Europe; America was different. Many Europeans called it the “treifine [not kosher] America.” In America then, even if the newly-arrived immigrant kept himself strong, in most families, the next generation would go OTD. In fact, a Crown Heights resident was walking with his young son on Eastern Parkway, passing by 770, and he said to his son, “You see these people with the black hats and beards? In 20 to 30 years, there will be none left.” [Guess by whom this was told — by his Lubavitcher grandchild!]
The previous Rebbe declared that “America is not different.” This concept expresses itself specifically by the Pesach Seder, when people keep the minhagim of their families going back many generations.
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*Admor RaYYatz, 6th Chabad Rebbe
RABBI SHALOM BER MUNITZ
