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The following is from pages 400 - 401 of the essay <b>Adar IV</b> that
appears in Volume II of the Collected Writings of RSRH. <br><br>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>If
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>we were to summarize the
entire history of the era of the Second <br>
</font>Temple in terms of one single thought, we would surely view it as
a <br>
preparatory period for the great migration through the ages that lay in
<br>
store for Israel. In these wanderings, Israel would find itself among
<br>
many nations of many different kinds, but the lives of none of these
<br>
nations would be compatible with the ideals of Judaism. In the midst
<br>
of these nations, Israel would have to preserve its unique individuality.
<br>
Beneath the eye of its alien overlords, and in its relations with the
<br>
subjects of these mighty rulers, Israel was expected to refuse to bow to
<br>
the gods of the nations. It was to translate into consummate reality, to
<br>
the greatest extent possible, the full abundance of God's Law, thus <br>
demonstrating, to the amazement of the rest of the world, the awesome
<br>
sustaining power of this Law. <font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>It
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>seems that the entire era of
the Second <br>
Temple was intended to prepare the Jews to maintain such
indepen</font>dence <br>
in the midst of a life that conflicted sharply with their ideals. The
<br>
political independence that had been granted them at that time was <br>
limited from the outset. It was only an act of homage from Cyrus, King
<br>
of Persia, to the God of Israel, a gesture which was splendid, to <br>
be sure, penetrating even the remotest future, but which Ezra from the
<br>
very beginning interpreted in these words: "And now, for a moment,
<br>
we were shown grace from our God) to leave us a remnant, to give us <br>
a stake in the place of His
Sanc<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>tuary, to enlighten our eyes and
to grant <br>
us some measure of independence in our bondage. For we are still <br>
bondsmen and even in our </font>bondage we have not forsaken our
God" (Ezra 9, 8-9). <br>
Tiny Judea confronted them all, one after the other, the powerful
civilized <br>
empires that moved across the stage of world history in the course of
those <br>
centuries: the Persians, the Greeks, the Syrians, the Egyptians and the
Romans. <br>
In most instances Judea was dependent on these nations, but there were
times <br>
when it met them as their equal and their ally. Regardless of their
relationship <br>
with these alien empires, the Jews were to learn to remain Jews even
among strangers. </body>
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