How have we survived?

King Louis XIV of France asked Blaise Pascal, the great French philosopher, to give him proof of the supernatural. Pascal answered, “Why, the Jews, your majesty, the Jews.”

The survival of the Jewish people has confounded many great rational minds. From enslavement in Egypt to the recent bombardment from Iran, we have faced innumerable threats to our existence, and yet we have survived and thrived.

Is our survival as a nation indeed in the realm of the supernatural or divine, or is there perhaps a more rational explanation?

Thanks to Yaakov Shwekey, “Vehi she’amda” has become one of the most famous passages in the haggadah. Millions of Jews sing the words on Pesach and throughout the year.

The words of the passage literally mean, “And this is what has stood for our forefathers and for us, because in each generation, they rise up against us and G-d saves us from their hands.”

In this passage, we have the answer to the question how the Jews have survived every generation. The answer is “this”. “This” is what stood for us. But what exactly is “this”?

There are a number of opinions as to what “this” is.

I suspect that the author of the haggadah was deliberately vague as there really isn’t one answer to the question how the Jews have survived.

There is a strong opinion that “this” refers to the preceding passage in the haggadah, the promise that G-d made to Abraham that he would redeem the Israelites from Egypt. Although this promise began with the redemption from Egypt, it has continued throughout history. G-d promised never to let the nation of Israel perish. Several centuries later, Jeremiah stated, “Thus said G-d … If these [natural] laws should ever be annulled by me, only then would the offspring of Israel cease to be a nation before me for all time.”

Without G-d’s protection, the Jewish nation should have and would have perished long ago.

Another opinion says that “this” refers to the Pesach story itself. Relaying the story to our children year after year has strengthened our common belief that we have a divine destiny in this world. This Jewish destiny is worth fighting for with all our might and energy and has ensured our survival.

Yet another opinion says that “this” refers to the Torah. The Torah has kept us alive as a nation. The Torah has always connected Jews no matter where we are. The Torah is what we have fought for, and it has provided a deep-rooted sense of unity and purpose.

In December 2016, Vladimir Putin met Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar. Putin told Lazar, “There have been many nations who have come and gone. But the Jewish nation continues to exist, generation after generation, for thousands of years. I’m sure that this is only because of its strict adherence to the Torah and its commandments. It passes on these traditions throughout the generations, no matter what the circumstances.”

Even Putin understood the centrality of the Torah to the Jews and the crucial role it has played in ensuring our survival.

I have mentioned only several opinions as to what “this” refers to, and it is definitely not exhaustive.

One thing is for sure. As we sit around the Pesach seder, we literally contribute to Jewish survival. By recalling G-d’s eternal promise, by immersing ourselves in our rich tradition, and by feeling the togetherness and unity of all Jews, we internalise our resolve to survive and thrive and to fulfil our divine destiny in history.

• Rabbi Jonathan Fox is group rabbi of the Chevrah Kadisha.