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Diana Ben-Avides, based in Maimi, Florida is a contributing writer for NRIinternet.com

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A collection of thoughts about the Jews…Children of Yisrael!

A renowned genius once asked a student, “What are you watching when you sit on a hill side in the late afternoon as the colors turn from yellow to orange and red and finally darkness?” He answered, “You are watching the sunset” The genius responded, “that is what is wrong with our age. You know full well you are not watching the sunset. You are watching the world turn”. Jeremy Kagan, “The Jewish Self”.

In a world where Jews are only a tiny percentage of the population, what is the secret of the disproportionate importance the Jews have had in the history of the same? Could it be the fact that every Jew, no matter how insignificant is engaged in some decisive and immediate pursuit of a goal? Is that what makes them the most perpetual people on earth? The preservation of the Jews is really one of the most signal and illustrious acts of divine providence…and what but a supernatural power could have preserve them in such a manner as none other nation upon earth hath been preserved. Nor is the providence of God less remarkable in the destruction of their enemies, than in their preservation… We see that the great empires, which in turn subdued and oppressed the people of God, are all come to ruin…and if such hath been the fatal end of the enemies and oppressors of the Jews, let it serve as a warning to all those, who at any time or upon any occasion are raising a clamor and persecution against them (Thomas Newton).

So, who and what is a Jew? What kind of unique creature is this whom all the rulers of all nations of the world have disgraced and crushed and expelled and destroyed; persecuted, burned and drowned and who, despite their fury and their anger continues to live and to flourish? (Tolstoy) To be a Jew is to be part of a journey begun by Abraham and Sarah and continued by their children until today. Jews have been touched the Judaism’s spirit of eternity and they will never willingly snap the link between the past and the future. To be a Jew means to be YHVH’s light to the nations, as it is written: “I will also give you for a light to the nations, so that my salvation may be unto the end of the earth!” (Isaiah 49:06). To be a Jew is to see the world through God’s eyes- it is to be discontented with the status quo and unafraid to shake it. To be a Jew is to feel deeply the harms done to others and to speak out in the face of wrong doing and to be a non-conformist, to stand apart from the world, to shout no when others murmur yes to injustice. To be a Jew is to dream of social justice and to have abiding concern for others- it is to have compassion without condescension of the poor, the weak and the suffering. To be a Jew is to study and worship with observance the word of God (Torah).

To be a Jew is a symbol of eternity- he is the one that for so long has guarded the prophetic message and transmitted to all mankind- and because of this reasons and more- The Jewish people can never disappear without the will of God. The Jew is eternal! Whether we are orthodox, conservative, reform, Sephardic or Ashkenazi we follow the Talmud- it is our common law. Our nation was disjoined and spread out all over the world. Today, we are from and made of many cultures, countries, races, and languages- but we are all children of YHVH, the Almighty! We are servants of YHVH, as it is written: “But you, Yisrael, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my beloved; you whom I have taken hold from the ends of the earth, and called you from the uttermost parts thereof, and said unto you: You are my servant, I have chosen you and no cast you off! Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your Almighty. I strengthen you, help you; I uphold you with my victorious right hand (Deuteronomy).

Do you realize how much moral teaching the modern world owes to the Hebrew prophets, whose monotheism and moral teachings entered into Christianity and Islam? Certainly the world would be a radically different place without the Jews- humanity might have eventually stumbled upon all the Jewish insights, but we cannot be sure of that. All the great conceptual discoveries of the human intellect seem obvious and inescapable once they have been revealed, but it requires a special genius to formulate them for the first time. The Jews have this gift- to them we owe the idea of equality before the law, both divine and human; of the sancticity of life and the dignity of human person; of the individual conscience and so of social responsibility; of peace as an abstract ideal and love as the foundation of justice, and many other items which constitute the basic moral furniture of the human mind. Without the Jews it might have been a much emptier place. (Johnson).
Western civilization was born in the Middle East, and the Jews were at its crossroads. In the heyday of Rome, the Jews were close to the Empire’s center. When power shifted eastward, the Jewish center was in Babylon; when it skipped to Spain, there again were the Jews. When in the Middle Ages the center of civilization moved into central Europe, the Jews were waiting for it in Germany and Poland. The rise of the United States of America to the leading world power found Judaism focused there. And now, today, when the pendulum seems to be swinging back toward the old world and the East rises to renewed importance, there again are the Jews in Yisrael (Houston Smith).

Some people like the Jews, and some do not. But no thoughtful man can deny the fact that they are beyond any question, the most formidable and the most remarkable race which has appeared in the world (Churchill). To understand what and who a Jew is….sitting on a hill side on a late afternoon, is not just going through building blocks of history, events, contributions, and impact by this chosen people on earth…but it is to see the love and protection of a divine power over His children- the children of Yisrael!

Children of Yisrael fear not. Behold, all those that were incensed against you shall be ashamed and confused! (Isaiah) Before anything, I am a creation of the Almighty. I am an American. I am grateful and have so much love for the Indian people. I love the Latin, Caucasian, Asian, and Middle Eastern people. And above anything I am a Jew. (Diana B.)

This writing is property and copyright of its author…Diana Benavides.


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