As one of his final addresses to the Jewish
Nation, Moshe Rabbeinu gave counsel for the generations:
“Remember the days of old; study the
years of generation after generation; ask you father and he will relate it
to you, your elders and they will tell you.”
Rashi explains that the words “understand
the years of generation after generation” is a criticism against the
Jewish people. “If you pay attention to history, you will see that HASHEM
has the power to care for you and will bring you to the days of Moshiach and
the World to Come.”
Rashi seems to be saying that by studying
Jewish history a person will come to a powerful faith in HASHEM. As if to
say, if you if you would pay attention to the details of what HASHEM has
done up till now, you can see that not only does HASHEM run the world, but
He is capable of everything. This understanding would be so clear to you
that you would understand and feel that HASHEM will also bring
Moshiach and give us our reward in the World to Come.
The problem with this Rashi is that just the
opposite seems to be true. A study of Jewish history shows the account of an
oppressed people who went from exile to expulsion, from tyranny to
oppression. One of the most pointed questions a thinking person may have
about HASHEM is: how could He sit back and watch as His people, His
Chosen Nation, were tortured and oppressed throughout the generations?
The past two millennia haven’t been a walk in the
park
The reality is that it has been a rocky 2,000
years. From the destruction of the second Bais Hamikdash till now, the
Jewish people have lived through every imaginable horror inflicted on man.
We have lived through the Crusades, the
Spanish Inquisition, blood libels, pogroms, persecutions, mass murders and
the Holocaust. Whenever man devised a new method for torturing other men,
that method was used on the Jews. Whatever diabolical means were concocted
for one man to kill another, it was used on the Jews. We were stabbed, shot,
hung, executed, clubbed, burned, gassed, and beaten to death. Historically,
there was no shortage of creativity when it came to killing Jews. And if a
particular nation didn’t kill us, they threw us out. If you were to count
all of the countries from which we were expelled en masse, you would
have a world atlas!
Throughout the annals of mankind, everything
changes: beliefs, culture, language, dress, and modes of government … It
seems that there is only one constant, one immutable law of nature. Everyone
hates the Jews.
This being the case, how can Rashi tell us
that studying these events will strengthen our Emunah? Quite the contrary,
they seem to be a great challenge to our faith.
The answer to this question is based on
seeing the big picture and the reasons behind what happens.
Viewing the world from 35,000 feet
When you look out the window of a plane, you
may experience an almost eerie widening of perspective. As the plane
taxis to the runway, the world is in normal relief. Houses are the size they
always are. Cars are just as they should be. However, as you take flight, a
strange perspective shift begins. The normally large apartment buildings
begin to shrink. Highways now look like ribbons winding around in patterns,
and entire blocks of houses look like mere models set in orderly patterns.
At 35,000 feet, you see the world in a wholly
different manner. Now patterns begin to emerge. Neighborhoods can be
identified. Cities can be seen for their true size and scope, and your
entire viewpoint changes.
Which is the right perspective?
This is a powerful moshol because while we
live life on ground level, we only understand it at 35,000 feet.
In the thick and thin of our daily routine, it becomes impossible to see the
larger patterns. At 35,000 feet, we begin to understand the larger picture
and we see start to see the rhyme and the reason behind things.
This seems to be the answer to this Rashi.
The inexplicable reality is that we the Jews
have survived. After millennia of torture and oppression, this nation is
still intact. Oddly enough, of all the ancient peoples, the only one that
remains is the Jews.
Where is the Egyptian monarchy now? The
Greek/Syrian dynasty? The powerful Roman Empire? All of these “great”
nations had their moment. Their star shone bright for a time, but now they
are gone, never to be heard from again. Of all the ancient peoples, we alone
survive. The lone wolf amongst the 70 nations – always hated, hounded and
oppressed – she alones survives while all the powerful enemies that loom
over her are no more.
Now, back on our land
But even more than that, we now find ourselves
back on our land. We occupy the very same cities described by the Nevi’im.
We have again settled the places where our forefathers walked. Never in the
course of history has an indigenous people been exiled, remained intact
generation after generation, and then reclaimed their homeland – a land they
left almost 20 centuries earlier. It is so remarkable that it forces a
person to stop and ask, “Is it possible?!”
We have kept our ways
The final piece in
the puzzle is that we have kept our ways. We study the same Torah that
echoed in the Batei Medrashim of ancient Rome. We keep the same mitzvahs
with the same precision as did the Jews who lived during the first Bais
Hamikdash. We wear the same tefilin, with the same ten criteria as did the
Jews who lived during the time of Dovid Ha’Melech. Rav Yonason Eibichitz
defines this as a miracle even more stunning than the splitting of the Red
Sea.
If one studies these phenomena, he will
quickly recognize that they can’t be. According to all the laws of nature,
according to the natural proceeding of man, the Jewish nation shouldn’t
exist. We should have been wiped off the face of this planet long ago. Yet,
we survived and we flourish. To this day, we adhere to our G-d, and now we
find ourselves back in our homeland, as alive and as vibrant as ever.
The message
The message is clear to anyone who wishes to
see it. The Jewish people is an exalted and mighty nation. We are HASHEM’s
people. With a unique destiny and role to play amongst the nations, HASHEM
shepherds us from country to country, from exile to exile, all the while
keeping us separate and holy, maintaining us as His Chosen nation. Our very
existence is the greatest proof of the Master Who watches over and protects
us.
May HASHEM
hastily usher in Moshiach to bring us all back to His land to serve Him
fully
For more
on this topic please listen to
Shmuz #1
- Eternal People, and
Shmuz #
172- The Tisha B’Av Shmuz
