Thoughts on Jews (1)

I recently read a book called "A Thousand Years of Jewish History", which made me supplement and three-dimensionalize most of the Jewish history. I believe that many people have the same understanding of Jews as I do, which can be summed up in a few words, such as Israel, terrorism, the Middle East war, Israel's war against Arabs, Zionism... all of which are derogatory or shaped into derogatory meanings. impression.

As the people of God, the people of the covenant, the Jews once realized and were proud of it. They came to the promised land, the land flowing with honey and milk, Canaan, thousands of years ago. When God no longer appeared, the Jews on the land faced the tragic situation of land plundering. Most of the time, the Jews were in a "big diaspora", and the ethnic groups who could not return home were spread all over the world.

What amazes me the most is that solid bridge that holds every Jew together - Judaism. The earliest monotheistic religion created a devout nation. Regardless of the period of great diaspora or the golden age, the reason why Jews can unite is absolutely inseparable from Judaism. Judaism learned the importance of law and morality, education and financial management. From the "Ten Commandments" of Moses, the traditional Jewish values, the "Hebrew Bible", guide the behavior patterns of the Israelites (wrestlers with God).

They attach great importance to education, because they believe that education can help children and grandchildren learn how to be human beings. Even a beggar cannot stop learning. Learning is not only about learning the "Hebrew Bible", but also emphasizes the importance of learning. Learning knowledge also needs to be matched with a skill, that is, the life skill to support oneself. In a Jewish family, the father is a role model for the children. He acts as the children's enlightenment mentor, imparting Jewish knowledge and values. In the Jewish education system, in addition to the school, tutoring is an important part. After all, he spends more time with his family, and the object of his learning since childhood is also his family.

Jews do not feel that money is a demon, or a symbol of evil. They encourage making money for the very simple reason that money is what supports everyday life. If a Jew can't even afford his daily living expenses, he can't even think about doing other things. Therefore, making money is a necessity to protect themselves, and they do not respect money to the point of greed for money, but must understand how to manage money and make money. Earning money cannot be obtained through unrighteous means, and unfair trade is spurned.

How is Judaism related to Christianity and Islam? The book does not clarify this in detail, but in general Christianity was originally a branch of Judaism, but it gradually grew and became the mainstream religion. In the middle, the Jews killed Jesus, and since then Christians have had a bad relationship with the Jews. Judaism and Islam are also an extension of the relationship, and should be related to the branch of Judaism in the Middle East. Anyway, the teachings and books of Islam - the Koran, are in many ways inherited from the Hebrew Bible, and their sanctuary is also in the same place. —Jerusalem, the city of peace, and the situation in Jerusalem is more or less ironic.

The long-cherished wish of the Jews is to return to Canaan, at least most of the Jews hold this idea. During their time of diaspora, they suffered various persecutions and were not received by many countries. They even built walls—ghettos—to distinguish them, thinking that they were dirty in their bones. Discrimination is timeless, spanning millennia, and anti-Semitism has never stopped. What is even more tragic is that many disasters that have nothing to do with the Jews are still regarded as caused by the Jewish population, such as the Black Death.

After the end of the First World War, Hitler hated the Jews even more, blamed the Jews for the failure of the war, and listed the Jews as the target of massacres, which led to many tragic events in many German-occupied areas. The situation in the Warsaw Ghetto was especially tragic, and the Jews fought hard And the massacred city, the local also erected a monument.

Remember the Kneeling of German Chancellor Brandt in Warsaw in 1972? Brandt's kneeling made the whole of Germany stand up. I'm also thinking, does he need to kneel? Is the responsibility of history on him? Do we have to inherit the mistakes of our ancestors? If we inherit their glory, should mistakes and sins also be inherited? Since then, Germany's involvement in World War II has been openly discussed.

It is admirable for a country to be willing to face up to its own historical mistakes. Even if you don’t know that there are political conspiracies or strategies at this time, it is better than a country that dares not face up to its history, chooses to avoid it, or distorts the facts to rationalize itself. country, come much better.