Generations survive, thrive

RABBI SHMUEL YESHAYAHU

Jews have been persecuted literally for thousands of years. From where have they found the tenacity to keep going and, as a group, be so successful? Are there lessons to be learned from Jews' experiences for other peoples that have suffered discrimination and persecution?

There are different ways to approach this question but I would like to focus on what I believe to be a major factor leading to Jewish survival and relative prosperity. This factor is our unique belief system.

Let's start by looking at what is probably the most famous Jewish prayer, "Shema Yisrael": "Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad." ("Hear O Israel, the Lord our G-d, the Lord is One.")

This is the prayer we are taught from a very young age. We say it before we go to sleep and when we wake up, and many Jews have said it during the most difficult times. I would like to focus on the last two words of the prayer: Hashem Echad. What does it mean, "G-d is One?"

In the Talmud (Berachot 13b), the oral Torah, there is a discussion about the word echad (one). It says, "Kol hama'arich b'echad, ma'arichin lo yamav ushnotav." "Anyone who lengthens the word echad, will have lengthened his days and years." There is obvious importance in this word. The idea that there is only one G-d is important but there is another concept we can understand from this word – that there is nothing besides G-d. Everything is one. Everything we receive, every particle of existence is a manifestation of G-d, fully dependent on G-d at every moment. G-d created the universe but it exists continuously through divine light. The kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) explains that this universe exists through a stream of energy emulating from the infinite essence of G-d.

Now let's look at the word echad from a different angle. Hebrew letters have numerical values that help us understand the Torah. The word echad has three letters: aleph, chet and daled. Aleph equals one. This is G-d. Chet equals eight. This is equivalent to the seven heavens and the Earth, in other words, all of the spiritual levels of existence. Daled equals four. Four alludes to the four physical directions: north, south, east and west. So this is the physical world.

Now we can understand why one would want to lengthen, or meditate on, this word. It encompasses a very important aspect of our belief system, that which tells us that everything is one. Everything is G-d.

Interestingly, this includes evil, as well. And if G-d is the ultimate good, then it follows that even evil's source is ultimate goodness. By saying the Shema, we're cultivating the thought that there is a reason, even for difficult times, because everything is from G-d.

We also learn about our godliness from the wording used during the creation of Adam. The Torah says that we are created in G-d's image. This is a strange choice of words since many Jewish sources say that G-d has no image!

But, this is exactly the point. We are created in G-d's image, meaning, in effect, that we have no image. This understanding gives us the ability to do things that would seem impossible otherwise.

There is a story of a tiger who, after being let out into a beautiful habitat constructed for him in an American zoo, would only walk 30 feet forward and back. Why? During the construction of the habitat, he was kept in a temporary cage, 30-by-30 feet. Since his stay in that cage was a few months, he got so used to it that he no longer considered the idea of going any further.

This is an animal's nature. But humans often act similarly. We so often think that we are incapable of doing certain things. We hear people say, "I'm just not that type of person." But Judaism teaches us not to live life with a fixed idea of what we can and cannot do.

This faith leads to a few important traits. It leads to believing in ourselves and in others. It also gives us the ability to see the bigger picture, even when something bad is happening. The bee that stings, produces honey. Maybe we can view the Jew as an Olympic athlete of life. The Olympic athlete is always pushing her limits. I think that because Jews are raised within a framework of echad – everything is one – and are created in G-d's image – therefore lacking an image – we have always found the strength to endure whatever comes our way.

Rabbi Shmuel Yeshayahu is the head of the Ohel Ya'akov Community Kollel. He wrote this article with Deena Levenstein, a freelance writer living in Jerusalem; her blog can be found at deenascreations.com.

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