spiritually broken. I repeat: we must not fall into despair, scepticism and
pessimism, which are only one step from the abyss of downfall, from the
pit of destruction and disintegration. No!” the rabbi exclaimed with pathos,
“No, I say! We must not despair. We must not fall short of the steadfastness
and optimism, the faith and trust, of our forebears in the dark Middle Ages.
No! We must not be deserters from our history, which is rich enough in such
bloody moments as the present. The ancient tried and tested people of martyrs
must once again stand the test, for netzah yisrael lo yeshaker¹⁴⁷⁵ — the
test of not drowning in the sea of troubles, suffering and pain.
Jewish martyrology contains enough experience and enough tempestuous
periods to prove that no force in the world will be able to wipe the Jewish
people, the Jewish nation, from the face of the earth. [10] As the basis for
such optimism and endurance, let me quote a verse of the Prophet, a verse
which contains such hitchazkut and wisdom that it should be inscribed in your
memories and in your hearts and always shine before your eyes throughout
the gloom of twilight. May this verse accompany you in all your thoughts
and ideas, in all your movements. Here is what it says: ve’af gam zot bihyotam
be’eretz oyveihem,¹⁴⁷⁶ even then, when the Jewish people find themselves in
a hostile land, among enemies who seek to destroy — God forbid! — that holy
people, nevertheless lo me’astim velo ge’altim lekhalotam,¹⁴⁷⁷ I shall not make
them loathsome nor degrade them, nor let them, God forbid, be destroyed,
lehafer beriti otam,¹⁴⁷⁸ and annul and break the covenant, the bond which
I made with them, ki ani adonai eloheihem,¹⁴⁷⁹ for I alone am their God, their
creator, their protector. That verse should be, for all of us, the basis of our
trust and our faith, the cornerstone of hope for a better tomorrow when the
sun will shine again in the darkened Jewish sky, when it will rise again on
the gloomy, cloud-ridden Jewish horizon.
Dear brethren,” the rabbi concluded his words of encouragement, “we
must be firm in our hope that, with the help of the Holy One, blessed be He,
we shall soon live to see the Jewish ship of exile, sailing for thousands of years
1475 (Hebrew) The strength of Israel will not lie (Samuel I 15:29).
1476 (Hebrew) And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies (Leviticus 26:44).
1477 (Hebrew) I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, (Leviticus 26:44, continued)
1478 (Hebrew) and to break my covenant with them (Leviticus 26:44, continued)
1479 (Hebrew) for I am the Lord, their God. (Leviticus 26.44, continued).
