Unfortunately, we Jews are a stubborn, uncooperative bunch and are not rushing to place our collective head on the chopping block. So the fire of anti-Semitism burns anew and receives an honorable hearing in the most unexpected places. Jews are being beleaguered in bastions of freedom like university campuses; liberal, wise academicians refuse to admit us to their sanctums; European streets are unsafe for kippah-clad heads; Israeli products are banned from supermarket shelves; Jews are attacked and the rancid smell of Mein Kampf wafts above the ashes of Jewish graves. Not all over, but in enough places that it can no longer be ignored.
Sixty years may have gone by since World War II, but nothing much has changed. In fact, nothing much has changed since the time of our father Yaakov and his brother Esav. It is not a very heartening picture. We can be excused for wondering if there is any hope at all for G-d’s poor, beleaguered people.
And yet we do have hope. Hope and faith that despite the seeming strength of Esav and Yishmael and the Pharaohs and Hamans and Hitlers of the world, a new and different world will eventually emerge. Our hope and faith often seems silly and unrealistic. But then again, we were always a people different and apart, from the time of Avraham Avinu until today. And knowing that is a great source of strength, for by knowing we have accepted the challenge of an Eternal Covenant. It is not the Jews who are being attacked, vilified, pillaged and killed. The war is against G-d Himself; we are merely His eidim – His witnesses. We carry His sign in our minds, our hearts and on our flesh. It is an awesome, heavy responsibility. It makes us the target for the G-d haters of the world.
But we shall persevere. Together with our responsibility, we have an eternal promise. The Geulah will come. Not in Europe or the United States or Asia. Our future is not in the lands of our exile, which was never where we were intended to be, but here, in Eretz Yisrael, G-d’s Own blessed and sanctified home.
And so when we are confronted with news of killings, terror, ISIS, Hamas, boycotts, anti-Semitism – the entire spectrum of hatred focused on Am Yisrael – we continue to believe and have faith. We never despair. We are G-ds children, His witnesses, the carriers of His name. Just as there is no world without Him, there can be no world without us. We bend our heads to weather the storm, we lift them to pray, we do what we have to do. And we wait. An eternal people has an infinite amount of patience at its disposal. We are the right people, in the right time, in the right place. Am Yisrael Chai.