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INTRODUCTION
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The chronicles of the Jewish People describe events which have no parallel in the history of any other nation.
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Like every discipline in the academic world, history has its axioms and corollaries. A golden rule of the chronicles of man is that no nation endures forever, no matter how extensive its might, its power or its intellectual achievement.
Following this principle to its natural conclusion, the great historians of the Western World repeatedly come to a conclusion about the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: the Jewish People should no longer be here. According to the laws of history, the only place to find a Jew nowadays should be among the pages of the Encyclopedia of the Past.
Yet, the Jew is very much here with us today, alive and kicking. We all know how ubiquitous the Jew is in today's world. Where is he not to be found?
Each day's headlines prove that the Jewish People are not only very much with us, but that they continue to play a major role on this globe. What is more, they do not seem likely to step down from the world stage any time in the near future.
How can this be so? What is the secret of this nation's longevity?
For centuries now, historians have pondered this question. Here are some of their comments and explanations:
"...the ancient religion of Israel has survived, even while all other sects of the pre-Christian era disappeared.
"And even more amazing: Those religious sects which hold sway in our times are all based on concepts derived from Judaism. Consequently, the question is not what happened, but rather, why it happened this way.
"Why does this particular sect continue to endure? Why is Judaism still alive?
"We cannot answer these questions; herein lies the unique character of the Jew.
Terrot Reaveley Glover, The Ancient World, pg. 184-191
All things are mortal but the Jew;
all other forces pass, but he remains.
What is the secret of his immortality?"
Mark Twain, "Concerning the Jews:", Harper's Magazine, September, 1899; Republished in The Complete Essays of Mark Twain, Doubleday, 1963, p. 249
I cannot evaluate the Jewish Nation according to the accepted axioms of the history of man. The Jewish Nation is beyond the realm of time.
Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher
The consensus seems to be that the Jews are different. They are beyond the ravages of time. Why should they alone be so indestructible?
Our amazement only grows when we examine Jewish history more closely and make another discovery. Not only do the Jewish people have an exemption to the principle of "no nation lives forever." They are not "beyond the laws" of history. Their comings and goings on the stage of the world do follow a clearly defined set of laws, but they are unlike the regulations that govern the affairs of any other nation.
If we delve below the surface, we find that the rules of Jewish history differ quite distinctly from those which apply to other nations. There appears to be a second set of axioms is theirs alone.
In short, the annals of the Jewish People do not read according to the standard rules of world history; neither are they a collection of random adventures of a people tossed to the winds of fate.
One of these basic rules is this: Nothing happens to our people by chance.
Jewish history is not a collection of individual events that "just happened." Each episode in our history is tailor-made to achieve a specific goal of the Creator. In fact, the historic role assigned the people of Israel was determined well before the Jews became a nation. It was defined by Him who created not only the Jewish people, but the entire world and universe. Ever since then, Heaven has guided Jewish history through a series of events which will facilitate the fulfillment of Israel's destiny by the Jewish people.
This phenomenon is even more amazing in light of the fact that a full description of Israel's role in history was set forth in the Bible and detailed by the prophets of the Scriptures, centuries before the events actually took place. The Creator wished to inform us of His intentions well in advance. Similarly, He advised us in no uncertain terms what He expected of us as players in His divine drama. He informed His representatives, the prophets, and sent them to tell the nation at large. There were to be no secrets:
"For the L-rd G-d will not do anything without revealing His secret to His servants, the prophets." (Amos (3:7)
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