Covenant for all generations

Moshe Rabbeinu’s final address points to the covenant that applied to all Jews. This includes those Jews who already lived and died, and those who were not yet born.

Moshe spoke of those who were present, and those who were not present. The covenant was binding on every Jew, no matter when he lived.

This is what is unique to Judaism. One cannot renounce his Jewishness and say that he no longer wants to be considered a Jew. Even if, G-d forbid, he joins another religion, he is still a Jew because his mother is Jewish.

If we want someone to blame, we could blame our ancestors. They signed us up and made the covenant with Hashem. They took it upon themselves to guarantee that all future generations would be part of this covenant.

There is the Jewish soul placed in every Jew that makes him part of the Jewish nation. In Yiddish, this is called the “Pintele Yid,” the flicker of a Jew that can never be extinguished.

Sometimes a major event such as October the seventh, is what triggers that Pintele Yid. So many Jews who had gone so far astray, were suddenly aware that they were part of the Jewish people.

This unique and sometimes, subconscious identification to Judaism, is what was planted in us by our ancestors. This began at Mount Sinai and the covenant was emphasized again before Moshe died.

There is no nation on earth like the Jewish people. We should all be proud to be part of Am Yisrael.