Jerusalem. Jueus ultraortodoxos protesten per la derogació de la llei Tal, que eximeix els estudiants de les yeshives del servei militar obligatori (foto: Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)
“Since when does logic dictate the lives of the
Jews? Did you ever hear of a people that was exiled from its country, wandered
in exile for two thousand years, and didn’t assimilate? Most exiles assimilate
into their new environment after one or two generations. Millions of Italians
who immigrated to this country are now considered ‘real Americans’. By the
second or third generation they don’t speak Italian anymore. But the Jews,
after two thousand years of exile, kept Hebrew, Aramaic, and Yiddish. Their
culture wandered with them from one country to another. They didn’t abandon
their faith, and after two thousand years they returned to the land of Israel.
Do you find logic here? This is the only case in human history where a people
was preserved and didn’t assimilate. Not one theory can explain the secret of
the Jewish people’s survival.”
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Israel Zamir A Journey to my Father,
Isaac Bashevis Singer.
New York, Arcade Publishing, 1995 (versió Kindle,
2012).
