to enter the land of Israel. The future events of the Jewish People are documented in the next 19 books of Prophets and Writings. One of the most fascinating aspects of the Torah is its uncanny ability to predict future events (I guess when a book has an Infinitely great author as the Torah has with G-d, that helps with predictions). These days, Jews worldwide are reading the book of Devarim, known in English as Deuteronomy. Here we find some amazing predictions, as seen here where Moses speaks to the Jewish People before his death:
"I will not cross the Jordan. You, however, will cross, and you will possess this good land. Beware, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you... I call as witness against you this very day the heaven and the earth, that you will speedily and utterly perish from the land to which you cross the Jordan, to possess; you will not prolong your days upon it... And the L-rd will scatter you among the peoples, and you will remain few in number among the nations to where the L-rd will lead you... And from there you will seek the L-rd your G-d, and you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are distressed, and all these things happen upon you in the end of days, then you will return to the L-rd your G-d and obey Him.
For ask now regarding the early days that were before you, since the day that G-d created man upon the earth, and from one end of the heavens to the other end of the heavens, whether there was anything like this great thing, or was the likes of it heard? For the L-rd your G-d is a merciful G-d; He will not let you loose or destroy you; neither will He forget the covenant of your fathers, which He swore to them. Did ever a people hear G-d's voice speaking out of the midst of the fire as you have heard, and live? Or has any god performed miracles to come and take him a nation from the midst of a[nother] nation, with trials, with signs, and with wonders, and with war and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great awesome deeds, as all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? You have been shown, in order to know that the L-rd He is G-d; there is none else besides Him." (Devarim, 4:22-35)
~~~
Statistically, the Jewish People should account for over a Billion people. While the Chinese & other ancient peoples grew exponentially over the last 3,000 years, the Jewish People (b/c of constant attack) stayed at a remarkably even, small number, today marked at around 14 million, thank G-d. And as small as we stayed, throughout it all, we were never destroyed. History has shown that when a people/culture lose their land & language; are severely persecuted and killed, they don't remain a distinct people. And why have we been able to survive retain our identity? Not through Hebrew (Jews spoke Yiddish and Ladino, etc.) and not through the Land of Israel (we were gone for almost 2,000 yrs.). Rather, it has been through our connection to the Torah & its Commandments. And we did so for good reason. Because the giving of the Torah to the Jewish People was the single event in history where G-d Revealed Himself to an entire nation. "Did ever a people hear G-d's voice speaking...?" Has held true throughout the ages and hundreds of religions that surfaced. That strong tradition passed down from the original witnesses to G-d's Revelation, kept the future Jewish People determined and strong throughout all of the persecution and dispersion.
May we continue the tradition of connecting our lives to Torah & its Mitzvot, and may we all experience the ultimate prophecy of the final redemption, speedily in our days!
Shabbat Shalom!
{To read a detailed account of the incredible prophecies fulfilled through the Jewish people in History, see here}
-Daniel
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