Why did Hashem appear to Moshe Rabenu in a flame that did not consume the bush. To teach us that no matter what flame tries to destroy the Jew he will continue to survive. We have to have faith in our ability to continue.Every Jew has to ask "why did the Jews continue despite all of the hardships through the years". Even if a Jew is totally cut off from everything, he still has a responsibility to recognize the miracle of the on going existence of the Jews.
Parshat Shemot: Fabulous Flame
Teacher: Mrs. Shira Smiles Class: Parsha Topics 5769
This reminded me of the following quote:
Mark Twain and The Jews
”...If statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky way. properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world, in all the ages; and had done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it.
The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed; and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. 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, 1899
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