What is special about being part of a nation that has throughout history endured the atrocities by the Egyptians, Babylonians, Spanish, and Germans? Disaster after disaster; each generation experiencing persecution, hate, antisemitism, and suffering. Why is it special to be a Jew? Why continue on the destiny that has been passed on from generation to generation?
(See Video Below:)
The following in an excerpt from a moving article by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis that sheds light unto the concept of being Jewish:
"I was born in Hungary. I am a survivor of the holocaust, and the following story occurred during that time when the world was enveloped in darkness and man lost his sanity…
When the Germans occupied our city, one of the first things that they did was to seize prominent community leaders for interrogation at Gestapo headquarters. My own dear father, who was the Rabbi of the community, was among those arrested. The Nazi`s tortured him, and ripped his beautiful long beard from his cheeks ….. Broken and mutilated, he was returned to us, his family, and congregation. Shortly afterward, we were all herded into ghettos and readied for transport to the concentration camps.
One night, a member of our congregation knocked at our door. He had come at the risk of his life. In those days, for a Jews to be caught on the street after curfew, meant certain death. The man was obviously overwrought. There was an almost demented look in his eyes. "Please Rabbi", he cried out in a trembling voice. "You must help me …. My son, my little boy… I want him to live"!
My father looked at the man, and I detected a terrible sadness in his eyes. "Where it up to me my friend", he sighed, his voice barely audible… "Were it only up to me, then every man, every woman and every child would live. Hashem yeracheim - May the Almighty have mercy on all of us". He concluded in a whisper.
"No, no, it is not just wistful thinking", the man protested with urgency. "I have a definite plan … I made contact with the local Priest… He promised to take in my child… that is, if I allow him to be baptized… to be raised as a Christian".
As the man blurted out these words, he lost control completely and started to shake, his whole body racked by sobs. "I cannot make this decision", he cried…"I look at my boy and I cannot bear the thought of handing him over to the Priest… and yet, what other alternative is there? Rabbi, Rabbi". He sobbed. "What do I do? What do I do"?
I was a little girl at that time, but this scene has remained etched in my memory. I shall never forget it. It haunts me… It follows me everywhere and leaves me no peace. I remember how my father rose from his chair, how he slowly and painfully made his way to the man, and how he embraced him. I remember the tears rolling down my father`s cheeks, and I remember that as he wept the still-fresh wounds re-opened, and for a terrible moment it seemed to me as if my father was shedding tears of blood. My father put his arms around this tormented Jew and for a time, they just stood there, the two of them sobbing in a torturous embrace.
And then my father began to speak, his voice laden with the millennia of suffering of G-d`s people. Each word spoke volumes, each word was an echo of holy martyrdom…."You want your son to live" my father now said softly. "Believe me, I too want him to live. But tell me, my precious Jewish brother… tell me WHAT IS LIFE? How do you measure life?"
The man stood there, non-plussed, staring uncomprehendingly into space.
"Think for a moment" my father continued gently. "Before you answer, think for a moment…. If your son survives and he is not a Jew, will he live? Is that the life you want for him"?
An awesome silence hung in the air, a silence which lasted only a few moments, but which to me seemed an eternity. And then my father raised his arms toward heaven and softly repeated the question. His words were barely audible, but they seemed to pierce the walls: "IF YOUR SON IS NOT A JEW, WILL HE LIVE? WILL YOU BE SATISFIED"?
The man turned ashen. His eyes conveyed the painful suffering of G-d`s holy flock. "Yes, yes" he gasped…"I know, I knew all the time. We are a people who must be ready to die, yes, even to die, so that we may live. Yes, he continued. You need not say any more Rabbi. Forgive me for having troubled you".
My father walked him to the door, and in a few seconds he was swallowed up by the darkness of the night.
Yes, I live with this story. It haunts me… the man and his son are forever before me. And when I meet a young man or woman like yourself who nonchalantly declares "Judaism doesn`t mean a thing to me…. I`m in love and that`s all that matters", then I want to yell… I want to scream "Who do you think you are? By what right do you betray your people? By what right do you abandon your G-d? By what right do you trample on the graves of that man and his son? Don`t you understand that you are a link with a glorious past, that you are part of a prophetic history? Did you survive 4,000 years of torture and oppression only to disappear in the midst of freedom? ARE YOU TO BE THE LAST JEW IN YOUR FAMILY AFTER 4,000 YEARS"?
Those who died in the gas chambers disappeared in smoke. But at least they left behind a legacy, a kaddish. And those who go the route of intermarriage also die - but with one difference. They leave no trace. Their souls are forever extinguished in this world, as well as in the world to come. They leave no memory, not even a kaddish. They simply disappear…
When G-d called upon your father Abraham to sacrifice for His sake, he answered "HINENI - I AM HERE, I AM READY".
Today the call has come to you. Today it is your turn to say "HINENI". And you can do no less. G-d is calling you to fulfill your mission. What a glorious destiny, but what a catastrophe to be unaware of it."
"I was born in Hungary. I am a survivor of the holocaust, and the following story occurred during that time when the world was enveloped in darkness and man lost his sanity…
When the Germans occupied our city, one of the first things that they did was to seize prominent community leaders for interrogation at Gestapo headquarters. My own dear father, who was the Rabbi of the community, was among those arrested. The Nazi`s tortured him, and ripped his beautiful long beard from his cheeks ….. Broken and mutilated, he was returned to us, his family, and congregation. Shortly afterward, we were all herded into ghettos and readied for transport to the concentration camps.
One night, a member of our congregation knocked at our door. He had come at the risk of his life. In those days, for a Jews to be caught on the street after curfew, meant certain death. The man was obviously overwrought. There was an almost demented look in his eyes. "Please Rabbi", he cried out in a trembling voice. "You must help me …. My son, my little boy… I want him to live"!
My father looked at the man, and I detected a terrible sadness in his eyes. "Where it up to me my friend", he sighed, his voice barely audible… "Were it only up to me, then every man, every woman and every child would live. Hashem yeracheim - May the Almighty have mercy on all of us". He concluded in a whisper.
"No, no, it is not just wistful thinking", the man protested with urgency. "I have a definite plan … I made contact with the local Priest… He promised to take in my child… that is, if I allow him to be baptized… to be raised as a Christian".
As the man blurted out these words, he lost control completely and started to shake, his whole body racked by sobs. "I cannot make this decision", he cried…"I look at my boy and I cannot bear the thought of handing him over to the Priest… and yet, what other alternative is there? Rabbi, Rabbi". He sobbed. "What do I do? What do I do"?
I was a little girl at that time, but this scene has remained etched in my memory. I shall never forget it. It haunts me… It follows me everywhere and leaves me no peace. I remember how my father rose from his chair, how he slowly and painfully made his way to the man, and how he embraced him. I remember the tears rolling down my father`s cheeks, and I remember that as he wept the still-fresh wounds re-opened, and for a terrible moment it seemed to me as if my father was shedding tears of blood. My father put his arms around this tormented Jew and for a time, they just stood there, the two of them sobbing in a torturous embrace.
And then my father began to speak, his voice laden with the millennia of suffering of G-d`s people. Each word spoke volumes, each word was an echo of holy martyrdom…."You want your son to live" my father now said softly. "Believe me, I too want him to live. But tell me, my precious Jewish brother… tell me WHAT IS LIFE? How do you measure life?"
The man stood there, non-plussed, staring uncomprehendingly into space.
"Think for a moment" my father continued gently. "Before you answer, think for a moment…. If your son survives and he is not a Jew, will he live? Is that the life you want for him"?
An awesome silence hung in the air, a silence which lasted only a few moments, but which to me seemed an eternity. And then my father raised his arms toward heaven and softly repeated the question. His words were barely audible, but they seemed to pierce the walls: "IF YOUR SON IS NOT A JEW, WILL HE LIVE? WILL YOU BE SATISFIED"?
The man turned ashen. His eyes conveyed the painful suffering of G-d`s holy flock. "Yes, yes" he gasped…"I know, I knew all the time. We are a people who must be ready to die, yes, even to die, so that we may live. Yes, he continued. You need not say any more Rabbi. Forgive me for having troubled you".
My father walked him to the door, and in a few seconds he was swallowed up by the darkness of the night.
Yes, I live with this story. It haunts me… the man and his son are forever before me. And when I meet a young man or woman like yourself who nonchalantly declares "Judaism doesn`t mean a thing to me…. I`m in love and that`s all that matters", then I want to yell… I want to scream "Who do you think you are? By what right do you betray your people? By what right do you abandon your G-d? By what right do you trample on the graves of that man and his son? Don`t you understand that you are a link with a glorious past, that you are part of a prophetic history? Did you survive 4,000 years of torture and oppression only to disappear in the midst of freedom? ARE YOU TO BE THE LAST JEW IN YOUR FAMILY AFTER 4,000 YEARS"?
Those who died in the gas chambers disappeared in smoke. But at least they left behind a legacy, a kaddish. And those who go the route of intermarriage also die - but with one difference. They leave no trace. Their souls are forever extinguished in this world, as well as in the world to come. They leave no memory, not even a kaddish. They simply disappear…
When G-d called upon your father Abraham to sacrifice for His sake, he answered "HINENI - I AM HERE, I AM READY".
Today the call has come to you. Today it is your turn to say "HINENI". And you can do no less. G-d is calling you to fulfill your mission. What a glorious destiny, but what a catastrophe to be unaware of it."
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