Let’s relax about being Jewish

Martin Zagnoev, Johannesburg

We have much to be proud of. A letter this size cannot begin to describe the massive contributions our people have made. Never before has a nation so small contributed so much, and in so many areas. Ours is a history of biblical proportions. The world would be a different place without the Hebrew race.

We are the ultimate survivors. The Jewish people are amongst the oldest remaining nations who have survived from antiquity. All this, in spite of being exiled minorities in foreign lands during various eras.

People usually boast to compensate for feelings of insecurity, which offends others instead of impressing them. This is not our intention. Ideally, we would feel secure enough not to want to brag.

One of the negative effects of anti-Semitism has been on our morale. The fact that so many have wanted to destroy us is devastating. Yet has that really been the case and has it all been bad?

While we tend to focus on the worst, there have also been good times – even golden eras.

According to our great tradition, only one of the 70 original nations – the Amaleik – wanted to destroy us, not the majority of nations, as we often assume.Only Haman (who was from the Amaleik) and Hitler wanted to destroy the Jewish race. All the others wanted us to join them (by conversion) and stopped most of the hatred when we did so.

It would be a victory for Hitler if we started to fear that the Holocaust is almost commonplace, even though it was unique and was by far the biggest tragedy to befall us.

Much anti-Semitism was inspired by the church, which has now changed its ways.

Commenting on a biblical interaction between the brothers Eisav and Yaakov, the rabbis said that Eisav hated Yaakov. This has been incorrectly understood to mean that all non-Jews hate us. Eisav does not represent all the Gentile nations. Such toxic beliefs are part of why depression and anxiety are so common amongst our people.

Let’s lighten up!