Based on the “rules” of history the Jewish people should have been destroyed many times over or, at the very least, absorbed into other nations. How is it that we have managed to defy this trend? What is it that ensures our ability to continue on this incredible odyssey?
The answer is that our survival is in no way contingent upon our physical and numerical strength. Had it been so, we surely would have vanished from the world long ago.
Close to 350 years ago King Louis XIV of France asked the great French philosopher Blaise Pascal to give him proof of the supernatural. Pascal answered, “The Jews, your Majesty, the Jews.”
We are “an Eternal Nation” (Yeshayahu 44:7). Our survival has been directly linked to our covenant with God and our commitment to Him and His Torah. Such commitment is the sole guarantor of our national survival. In the words of the Talmud, “The nation that is tired out by intensive Torah study will not be delivered into the hands of her oppressor” (Sanhedrin 94b).
Of course, our survival is not simply a matter of defying the odds. Our continued presence and influence have allowed us to teach and exemplify Hashem’s prescribed religious and moral code to others. He charged us to remind other nations of His active presence in this world, and of our collective need to follow His will. The nation that grew out of Avraham’s personal quest has impacted the way in which the world approaches fundamental matters such as understanding God, spirituality, the human condition, and life itself.
The Jews gave us the Outside and the Inside – our outlook and our inner life. We can hardly get up in the morning or cross the street without being Jewish. We dream Jewish dreams and hope Jewish hopes. Most of our best words, in fact – new, adventure, surprise; unique, individual, person, vocation; time, history, future; freedom, progress, spirit; faith, hope, justice – are the gifts of the Jews. [Thomas Cahill, The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels, pp. 240-241]
In the process of surviving and sharing a set of eternal values with other nations, we also transmitted a powerful construct, one that presents God as the Overseer and Influencer of history. This approach adds an entirely new dimension to the study of history, seeing it as a controlled progression leading to a specific destination.
Our history is part of our ultimate destiny. History provides us with a roadmap in our quest for eternity, and the tools with which to uncover God’s goals for mankind.
This idea is also incredibly empowering. We know that we are involved in a pursuit and that we play an active role in reaching our destination, However, this concept also demands much of us. The duty to achieve its mission lies squarely on our collective shoulders.
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As we enter our sukkahs this year, let us take a moment to reflect on the true symbolic meaning of the simple structure that surrounds us. Let us value not only the open miracles that have come to frame Jewish history but also the steady, understated aspects of our national chronicles. Use the reflective time we possess during the next week to deeply contemplate the true extent of Hashem’s continuous care and concern for our people, both during our time in the desert and beyond. In so doing, we will come to the same stark realization achieved by Pascal, who saw Jewish survival as a historical anomaly and the key proof of God’s existence and involvement in this world:
[The Jewish people] are not only of remarkable antiquity but have also lasted for an exceptionally long time…. For whereas the people of Greece and Italy, of Sparta, Athens and Rome, and others who came so much later have perished so long ago, these still exist, despite the efforts of so many powerful kings who have tried a hundred times to wipe them out…. They have always been preserved, however, and their preservation was foretold…. My encounter with this people amazes me.
Wishing all a joyous, meaningful chag filled with the security and contentment that comes from looking up at the sky and appreciating the true Source of our protection.
