History's Lesson: Our Role as Hashem's People

The Jewish people: a historical marvel.

It's an astounding fact: the Jewish people have maintained the same identity throughout their history, from the revelation at Mount Sinai to today's world.

For approximately 3,300 years, fathers have handed down the awareness of our duties and rights in the world to their sons.

For approximately 3,300 years, we've conducted ourselves as a nation, sometimes residing in our land, but often scattered, persecuted, and oppressed worldwide. Many sought to annihilate us, but Hashem saved us from their hands.

This is something we all recognize.

Within this history, however, we can observe Hashem's guidance of Israel and the insights we must glean for our lives.

Let's start with some historical background, according to the Book of Jeremiah.

During the First Temple period, when Israel sinned against Hashem, G-d brought the Chaldeans to destroy Jerusalem. Then, the prophet Jeremiah turned to the people and said in Hashem's name, "He who dwells in this city shall die by the sword, famine, and plague; but he who surrenders to the Chaldeans will live and, at least, keep his life. Thus says Hashem, this city shall be given to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it." (Jeremiah 38:2). The people's reaction was fierce—they viewed him as a traitor! "This man must die because he discourages the soldiers who remain." They did not accept his prophecy; to them, he was the traitor, and they were the defenders of the nation!

They rebelled against Hashem, refusing to accept the divine decree to yield to their enemies—even though their sins necessitated it. They believed their path, a national resistance, was righteous. They forgot that Hashem Himself is Israel's leader in the world—more than any other nation. We are the people closest to Hashem, who called us His children, so He watches over and educates us more than any other nation. If we follow the right path, our way will succeed beyond the natural order. If we sin against Him, the ground beneath us shakes—our place isn't secure.

Later, after Jeremiah's prophecy came true and Jerusalem was destroyed, the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam to govern the remnant in Judah. Gedaliah, who followed Hashem's ways and was supported by Jeremiah, accepted Hashem's decree that Israel submit to the Babylonians, become loyal Babylonian citizens, and try to rebuild what remained.

Yet again, lawless people rebelled against the divine decree. Ishmael son of Nethaniah and his men conspired with the Ammonites and murdered Gedaliah and all with him. This action was a dangerous provocation of Babylon's mighty power of the time, as Gedaliah was its legitimate representative and spokesman in the land.

Gedaliah's loyalists and the remaining population feared for their lives. They planned to flee to Egypt. They asked Jeremiah the prophet to pray to Hashem and reveal His will for them. When Jeremiah relayed Hashem's directive for them to stay in the land, cautioning them that those who went to Egypt would perish, the people again rebelled and claimed, "You speak falsely; Hashem did not send you..." (Jeremiah 43:2).

These events led to the depopulation of the land of Israel, resulting in exile and severe hardships.

In remembrance of these events, we fast on days commemorating the destruction, reflecting on our ancestors' sins and examining if we persist in their mistakes.

This is a sobering lesson from this piece of history. We must accept the divine decree dictating our global standing as Hashem's people.

Interestingly, in our exile, we returned to being Hashem's people. Despite relentless attempts to spill our blood for being Jews who wouldn't forsake their Torah, despite efforts to force us to convert, we remained Hashem's people! This is why there's no day marking a rebellion against Hashem due to Gentile violence during the exile because such an incident never occurred, not warranting commemoration.

Moreover, a day exists commemorating the opposite event. When the Greeks attempted to crush the Jewish spirit and abolish the Torah in the days of Mattathias and his sons, the few and weak Jews took up arms and triumphed over the many and mighty Greeks with divine help. They risked their lives to uphold the Torah.

We must focus on this, especially during times of tranquility in exile, like when King Ahasuerus of Persia extended his kindness to the Jews. Not only did he refrain from oppressing them, but he also welcomed them. They were even invited to the king's feast celebrating three years of his reign. At that time, some among them mingled with the Gentiles and wished to be like them, as the sages described, "They benefited from that wicked man's feast," and "they bowed to the idol!" (Megillah 12a).

Notice that the sages say "they bowed to the idol." They didn't say they worshiped idols but only performed an outward act like the Gentiles, bowing to the idol. Internally, they may have believed in Hashem but acted to resemble the Gentiles!

Immediately, Hashem raised Haman against them, and a decree of annihilation was cast upon Israel. Only Mordechai's clear leadership, loyalty to the king paired with steadfastness in religious principles, and the nation's repentance saved them.

This is another lesson history has taught us. Times of comfort bring danger. We must not desire to mimic Gentiles. The fast of Esther reminds us that the fast then, with the nation's repentance, is what saved us.

It's fascinating that Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch pointed out this very risk (Horeb, Chapter 33), noting the danger in the nations 'smiling' at us. He seemed to address his contemporaries in Germany about 150 years ago as they began enjoying emancipation, elevating their status to equal citizens. It marked the start of the Enlightenment, a general weakening and assimilation. Like Mordechai's time, the people were dazzled by foreign benevolence and inclined to mingle. As in Mordechai's day, they performed external acts, bowing to idols, to behave like the Gentiles. So, too, in Hirsch's days, arose the saying: "Be a Jew at home and a German outside."

We don't know Hashem's ways, but there's an alarming coincidence: about eighty years after Hirsch's admonition to his contemporaries, the Holocaust began in the very place where the descent from Torah was most acute, and assimilation was rampant. We don't know why it happened; I'm not sure anyone can know. There are hypotheses among Jewish sages, but we can't ignore this connection. We must internalize that the history of the Jewish people isn't self-evident; Hashem accompanies and guides us everywhere, every generation, based on our deeds. This truth must be absorbed.

Even today, in our land, we find no peace. Enemies around us seek our destruction; we face wars and attacks and are often vilified and ostracized worldwide. This challenging situation—even with hopes for positive change—reminds us of our uniqueness in the world, of being Jewish.

We pray for Hashem to grant us peace from our enemies because there's little doubt that tranquility here would lead to serious assimilation and dilution of Jewish identity.

This returns us to a long-standing historical message: we are not like other nations; our reality as a people is guided by the Creator, resulting from our behavior.

So said Isaiah to the people of Israel in Hashem's name: "If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of Hashem has spoken" (Isaiah 1:19–20).