B-H
In 1948 a child was born. He had to be hidden due to the threat from the head of the country.
He was like one of those genius children who can learn writing and reading at the age of two and play the violin by three. However he used his genius in a way that not necessarily pleased his parents. His parents were worried about him and that it would affect the whole family.
When he was in his forties, the government of his city decided to build the biggest tower in the world. The goal of this undertaking was to “Make a name for themselves”.
That was the when our matured genius clarified something he had begun to understand at the age of three: There is only One who is Real and whose Name should be respected and glorified.
He objected the government upon this issue. He performed an iconoclastic act within his own family which became known to the public. He was arrested, tortured and sentenced to a terrible death.
He miraculously survived however he is not now 53 years old, as a simple calculation would suggest.
His stubborn and rebellious DNA is changing the current and motion of history of the world for the past 3,800 years. His name is Abraham son of Terah – Avruhom Avinu and 1948 is the year he was born according to the Jewish calendar.
This biography is common for countless of his decedents as they had comparable situations but not necessary similar goals.
How many times did the Jews risk their lives for a cause that their father Abraham would not necessarily wish for?
It reminds me a story from my old country. There was a father and a son, they were born Jewish but they chose not to be identified as Jews. The father was a member of the Underground Polish Communist Party. This was illegal within the two decades between the two world wars; it was punishable with jail time or worse.
The father was caught and arrested. He later described his experience of how the Polish police knocked him with clubs of their rifles. Hi didn’t give up, he survived the torture and lived long enough to see his son fighting against communism in the 60ies and 70ies of the last century.
The son, was called an enemy of the state, when he was barley 17. He spent 11 years of his young life in the communist jails for his anticommunist activities. It is quite difficult to find a more ironic story. What a waist of ……What?
It is a fact, that not only Jews produced all kind of revolutions, canvassers, rebels or people using their talents in a positive but still revolutionary way throughout the history of the mankind.
However, there is a great overrepresentation of the Jews among those extraordinary people. There are spiritual explanations for this fact in the Jewish Tradition but this is not the subject of this essay.
It seams to be, that some kind of special craving for something higher, something unknown, and transcendental, within the Jews is stronger than among other nations. This may be the reason why in so many historical events, there is usually someone of Jewish origin.
No, not every Jew is like this. Most of the children of Yaacov are dominated by the mix of genes inherited from their father Yisrael; working hard, raising a family, and trying to bring holiness to the valley of tears that is the sorrow in the reality of exile.
There are few others who are like the forefather Yitzchok. They are quieter but filled with the sense of responsibility in the continuation of the heritage that was passed to them. They are stubbornly pushing through their legacy despite the hardship.
There is no question in the veracity of what is written above. Everybody observes this extraordinary dynamism of the Jewish people in the history of human civilization. Some people love it, some admire, but some can’t stand it. No person that is aware of history could ignore the phenomenon of Jewish involvement.
The query is, was there any reason for the preservation of this specific genetic pool trough the ages? Why was so much invested in this one stubborn nation among so many others?
In above question, there is already answer.
It is self understood that this didn’t happen by chance, it is no coincidence. By multiple natural reasons this nation should only exist in history books. However, it didn’t happen that way.
If there is preservation then there is a Preserver, if there is an investment there is an Investor.
The Jews were chosen and equipped for one specific reason. Their only task is to serve God and by doing that, glorify the Name of the Creator to all humanity.
No Nobel winners, no baseball players, no revolutionists, no composers or musicians, no politicians or filthy rich billionaires are the people that please their Creator. G-d of Yisrael is only delighted when his people fulfill his Torah by applying it to their daily lives. When they can take what was given to them - wealth, talents and potency - and serve Him with it. But above all, what is expected of us is our close bond to Him – Hakudoish Burich Hee.
Matys Weiser
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