Israel is one of the smallest countries in the world, and the Jews are one of the smallest nations in the world. You would never know it from the attention we garner. El Salvador and Rwanda are similar in size; how often do you read about them on social media? Ecuador and Zimbabwe have a similar population to that of Jews worldwide; how often do you read about them compared to the Jews?
Insignificant states and peoples do not attract the world’s attention. Israel and Jews are on the news almost daily. For better or worse, the world is obsessed with us. They believe we can change the entire course of history, move the world’s economy, spread pandemic viruses, annihilate entire countries, jumpstart entire ideologies, and control the world’s banks.
The list of things we have been accused of is as ridiculous as it is chilling. We are innocent; that is a fact. Yet they truly believe we can pull off capers of that magnitude. Isn’t it fascinating that they ascribe to us an extraordinary power that we don’t see in ourselves? It is not unusual for people to be unable to see themselves in the light that others see them. But to this extent? It stretches the bounds of credulity.
What G-d Thinks
In addition to the antisemites, there is only one other entity that believes we can change the world: G-d. In the Torah we read that G-d singled out the Jews to be His treasured nation. He did this because we singled out G-d to walk in His path and obey Him. (Deuteronomy 26:17-18) The prophet Isaiah (42:6) called us a light unto the nations. G-d declared us capable of swaying the course of history and the path of nations.
When we walk in G-d’s path and act as He instructs, He is walking through us. We don’t act on our own strength; G-d is acting through us. You know why the nations follow every storyline in the Jewish country? Because they are fascinated by what Jews do. We are the standard bearers for the world. They know it better than we do. They give us the credit for what we don’t give ourselves.
And they hate us for it. Who wants to be told that they need to step up and be better, live higher? No one likes that message.
Hitler, may his name be blotted out, believed that Jews are virus-carrying vermin and that if even one Jew survives, he or she can infect the world. He spoke in biological terms because he thought that way. His characterization of Jews was grotesque, but he understood that even one Jew could influence the world. He knew that Jews possessed extraordinary power. He was right about that. Not through Jewish power, but through G-d acting through a Jew. We would do well to look in the mirror and repeat that line until we believe it.
Their stories about Jewish dominance are not rooted in fantasy; they are rooted in fear. They know the power we hold in ways even we don’t know about ourselves, and they fear it. They fear that we will upend their world order. Their accusations are their way of explaining what they see without confronting what they cannot accept: that the source of Jewish influence is not domination but Torah.
It is not our own superior morality that gives us this power. It is the superior morality of the Torah, which G-d has empowered us to disseminate to the world.
Instead of dominance, we teach the Torah’s message of unity. Instead of selfishness, we teach the Torah’s lesson of tzedakah. Instead of divisiveness, we sow the Torah’s message of oneness. Instead of selective morality, we stand for G-d’s code of absolute morality.
Words That Ring True
Our message rings true because it is the message of G-d, the epitome of truth. When you hear the truth but don’t want to hear it, you hate the messenger. That is why they hate us.
I remember well the day my family was watching a TV drama about a boy who was kidnapped. It was rather scary. When my younger brother walked in, we all told him to step out because this was “inappropriate" for little children. My oldest brother spoke up. He rarely spoke, so when he did, we all listened. He said, “What is inappropriate for little children is inappropriate, period."
I remember just how angry I was when he said that. I reacted as if he had pulled a gun when all he did was state the truth. Even then, I instinctively knew his words were true, and because I knew it, I turned on him vehemently.
He probably doesn’t know this, but I never forgot his words, and they often serve as a light that illuminates my choices. What is inappropriate for young minds is inappropriate for adults. Right is right and wrong is wrong, and there is no way to sugarcoat it.
Hollywood has convinced us that certain themes are inappropriate for audiences younger than thirteen or seventeen. We all bought into this, but the probing question is why. Why is it appropriate for adults to watch filth, violence, and immorality? It is not. The labels only mean that we can control the choices of children, but we can’t control the choices of adults. But do adults need someone to control their choices? Can’t they control themselves?
When we were ten years old, our teacher informed us he wasn’t going to be in school the next day and that a certain substitute would fill in for him. We all hated that substitute; you can all guess why ten-year-olds might hate a substitute. It was not that he was abusive or mean; it was simply that he meant business. When he entered the classroom, he expected us to sit down and study, though “everyone knows" that when the teacher is away, students are meant to play. This substitute had none of it.
When our teacher told us who would fill in for him, we raised a hue and cry. We begged him to find someone else; anyone but him. When our teacher asked why we didn’t like him, we obviously could not tell him the truth. So we fibbed: it was because he couldn’t control us. The class would be undisciplined and unproductive.
Our teacher’s response rings in my ears to this day. “Why do you need someone to control you? What are you, untamed animals?"
I was stunned into submission by these words of truth. The truth has a way of hitting you between the eyes. I, for one, was too ashamed to keep up our argument. Other classmates did, but to no avail. The next day, the substitute came in, and we had no choice but to study.
How the Truth Made Me Feel
This teacher would never know it either, but his words also had a lifelong impact. Forty-four years later, the truth still rings in my ears. But here comes the probing question: How did hearing this truth make me feel at the time? Disempowered and ashamed. And no one likes to feel disempowered and ashamed.
With my older brother, I felt able to fight back. I lost that fight, mind you, but that is not the point. The only message he heard was that I believed him crazy and monstrous for even suggesting it. With my teacher, I felt powerless to fight back, so I had to slink into my chair and accept it.
The nations don’t like to hear our truths either. So they hate us. They call us crazy and monstrous. They discredit us in any way they can. They complain that we have the power to change the world, and they are right. Only not in the ways they claim.
We have the power to change the world for the good. To teach the world gratitude for our blessings and how to share them with those less fortunate. We have the power to teach the world the absolute value of life and the inherent value of every human being, irrespective of color or creed.
We have the power to show the world how to live by ethical principles even when it hurts. We have the power to unleash a torrent of goodness that can literally change the world.
Everyone in the world knows this except the Jew. They are waiting for us to step up and use our power, and we are the only ones holding us back.
It is time to stop believing the nonsense we tell ourselves and instead believe the truth we hear from our enemies. They hate us for good reason.
Now, you know what I mean when I say that.
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