Why Do Some Nations Thrive? Exploring the Secret of Jewish Survival

The Torah teaches us that the quality of life for the nations of the world is linked to their observance of the Seven Noahide Laws, which are basic ethical commandments concerning interpersonal behavior. For example, disasters like the Flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah occurred because their sins had reached an intolerable level (Maimonides discusses the principle of reward and punishment in Hilchot Teshuva, Chapter 3).

Is this principle observable today?

Consider this well-known example: the United States was a pioneer in abolishing slavery and enshrined the sanctity of life in its foundational laws. It also played a crucial role in saving European Jews during and after World War II. Since then, it has prospered more than many other nations, becoming the most influential global power.

In contrast, Nazi Germany possessed all the tools for success and briefly became a center of education and technological advancement. However, its citizens chose a leader who opposed Torah values, desecrated the sanctity of life, and systematically murdered millions of Jews. The result? The Nazi regime was crushed in World War II and utterly collapsed. Today, the name of that regime is a mark of shame for modern Germany.

Similarly, early Communist Russia showed great promise, with an impressive economy, high education levels, a strong military, and advanced technology. But their actions were appalling: communist agents systematically killed millions in Siberia, denied Torah values, and banned its study. Despite their vast power and technological prowess as a superpower, Russia eventually fell into dire poverty and famine in the 1980s, which dismantled communism and shattered the Iron Curtain.

To this day, poverty and disease are prevalent mainly in countries where pagan practices and human rights abuses occur. In modern Africa, people with albinism are still cruelly mistreated, and families abandon infants with disabilities. In India, the practice of "sati," wherein widows were killed, persisted until recently. Countries where citizens oppress each other with cruelty often live in poverty and deprivation, thereby visibly demonstrating divine providence in history.

Of course, the most significant example of divine providence is seen in the Jewish people: the survival of the Jewish nation for 3,300 years is a supernaturally extraordinary event, defying all historical laws (all ancient empires and nations of the Middle East have entirely vanished, except for the Jewish people!). Despite being small in number, they have gained worldwide fame and been leaders in wisdom and ethics.

Unlike other nations, the Jewish people received the divine Torah at Mount Sinai, upon which the world stands. Therefore, our success depends on observing the Torah and its commandments. Through Torah observance, the Jewish people attain prosperity, peace, wealth, and glory. However, if we slack in its observance, heaven forbid, the opposite occurs, and our enemies' antisemitic influences multiply worldwide (but in His mercy, Hashem saves us from their grasp, preventing them from destroying us). May it be our will to return to complete repentance with love and witness the light of redemption soon.