I’m writing this column while Leonard Bernstein directs the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s The Joy of Christmas on my iMac. This is remarkable on multiple dimensions: artistic, cultural, political, and technical. I’m happily amazed.

Imagine, Lenny in Salt Lake, the only American city in which he is a gentile. This musical genius from New York, who would later host a famous Upper East Side party for the Black Panthers, is directing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the nation’s best, in Christmas songs. And this is fourteen years before the LDS church accepted Blacks into their priesthood. Lots of cultural currents are roiling under the surface of this production. Only in America would one find such a conjunction. We are blessed indeed.

I believe America’s greatest blessing is our Judeo-Christian heritage. Although several of our most significant Founding Fathers were deists, they recognized the contributions of religion to civil society -- and the dangers of those who claim a monopoly on divinely inspired truth. This is the foundation upon which we celebrate the holiday season.

Consider President George Washington’s 1790 letter to Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I. This message from the father of our country summons the zeitgeist of our nation’s birth, and the liberal principles which guide us today when we are at our best.

“The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.”

That’s the foundation on which we enjoy prosperity, civility, and tranquility.

Decades ago I learned that material goods give the most satisfaction when they incorporate the good will of someone for whom we care. That’s why money and gift certificates have such limited holiday value for the vast majority. The fact that they are so easy to acquire depreciates their value to all but the truly needy.

I happen, I trust for only a few months, to be a bit crippled. This changes my perspective. I am indeed grateful to the anonymous dead donors whose tissues are now screwed, and I trust knitting, into my reconstructed ankle. This is a real gift -- and my drivers’ license states that I too am an organ donor.

While the operations were quite costly, one can’t buy the tissue. They are genuine gifts. And I am most grateful indeed.

There is a lesson here. That of most value, can’t be purchased. This brings me to a silly song by Spike Jones, “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth.” I came across it on an Indian web site, Mid-Day.com, in an article from Dec. 23, 2002.

“Day after tomorrow, it will be the 25th of December. I know, just another day in the new Hindutva calendar..., but I...remember the words of a funny little children’s song which went like this --

“‘All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth...’

“...there’s not really all that much that most of us want out of life. Enough to put food in our bellies, a roof over our heads and build a semblance of a tomorrow for our children. And if someone can throw in clean air, water and a little patch of grass to sometimes lie on and stare up at the stars and dream a little dream, it’s a good year.”

In this season of blessing counting, I suggest we reflect on this universal truth. Then consider how we can best protect our air, water, and big patches of grass, open space, and habitat. Good intentions will not suffice. Nor will regulations. Institutions that foster creativity and harness good will and ecological sensitivity are required. This is my Christmas/Hanukkah message. Amen.