By Lazer Gurkov
Blaise Pascal, French theologian and philosopher, wrote at length about the marvel of Jewish survival. Powerful kings have tried to destroy them, yet the Jews survived whereas the nations of Greece, Italy, Athens and Rome have long perished. It is said that when King Louis XIV of France asked Pascal to give him proof of G-d’s existence, he replied, “Why the Jews....”
The marvel of Jewish survival has led historians and philosophers of all stripes to wonder. Tolstoy, Churchill, Twain and Adams have all written with wonder about this phenomenon. Yet, whereas the believer is quick to credit G-d with our nation’s survival, the rationalist will ask, is it not also a product of Jewish tenacity, and determination.
I submit that both are correct. The rationalist and the believer. Jewish survival is a product of both. When we resolve to serve G-d with devotion, G-d responds in kind and ensures our survival miraculously.
A brief review of Jewish history will illustrate this. Our ancestors were delivered miraculously from Egypt, the house of bondage. Yet, they wouldn’t have been liberated if the Jewish women obeyed their husbands and stopped giving birth.
At the Reed Sea. G-d split the sea miraculously and the Jews passed through, but not before one Jew, Nachshon Ben Aminadav, plunged into the sea and risked his life to obey G-d’s command.
In Persia, Jewish survival was in peril. Esther risked her life by entering the king’s chambers unbidden and Mordechai staunchly refused to bow to Haman despite the king’s explicit instructions. When Jews outdid themselves in loyalty to G-d, G-d intervened and saved us.
In Israel, G-d saved our ancestors from oppression by the Syrian Greeks, who occupied our land. Yet, this salvation occurred only because the Maccabees, a brave band of five brothers and their father, stood up to the mighty Syrian Greek army and risked their lives to defend their faith.
The survival of the nation after the fall of the second Temple, was nothing short of miraculous, but not before one brave Jew, Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakai, risked his life to ingratiate himself with Vespasian and negotiate a promise of protection.
The bandit Chmielniki led pogroms across Ukraine in 1648. Many Jews were massacred, yet there were miraculous stories of survival. One such story occurred to Rabbi Shabsi Cohen, who fled the Cossacks and survived. The astounding piece is that he penned his magnum opus Sifsei Kohen, a vast and incisive analysis of Jewish law under duress. That no Halachic analysis is possible today without consulting Rabbi Kohen’s works is a testament to his brilliance and courage under fire..
There is no question that Israel’s superior army is responsible for its safety and the Iron Dome caught most of the missiles headed its way, but who gave them the wisdom and who saved the nation from the missiles that slipped through the dome and nonetheless landed safely?
The answer is as obvious to us as it was to Pascal. It is G-d who saves the Jews. Let us resolve to stimulate more miracles by devoting ourselves to Him yet again. Let us resolve to observe a Mitzvah we haven’t observed yet or strengthen one we are already observing.
