Singing in the Face of Antisemitism

For as long as Jews have existed, there’s been antisemitism. As we declare at the Seder:
“In every generation, they rise against us to destroy us; and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand!“
To illustrate the point, we go back to a time when only a single Jewish family existed:
“Go forth and learn what Laban the Aramean wanted to do to our father Jacob.” During his twenty years in the Southeastern Turkish city of Charan, Jacob endured humiliating mockery, abuse, and manipulation by his uncle and the townspeople. He was cheated in marriage, exploited in wages, and made to believe he owned nothing after toiling to the point of frostbite. “Pharaoh only decreed against males, whereas Laban sought the destruction of everyone,” the Haggadah recounts.
Yet, amidst these dire circumstances, the first all-Jewish family was formed. The children who witnessed this abuse became the twelve tribes of Israel.
The Midrash poses a question: “What sustained him?” Faced with anti-Israel boycotts, protests, and disparaging remarks wherever he went, what kept Jacob going?
“The Fifteen Songs of Ascents in Psalms,” says the third-century Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi.
The Fifteen Psalms 120 – 134 begin with “A Song of Ascents.” They correspond to the fifteen years that patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived together and contain some of the most powerful prose in Jewish liturgy:
“A Song of Ascents. In my distress, I called to the Lord, and He answered me… I am a man of peace: but when I speak, they are for war.” (Psalm 120)
“A song for ascents. I shall raise my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come?… Behold the Guardian of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep…” (Psalm 121)
Jacob, by reciting these texts, wasn’t solely praying; he was tapping into the strength inherited from his father and grandfather during their years together. Alone, the pressure might have overwhelmed him, but with the sacrifices and merits of those before him, he knew his message and purpose would endure.
Jacob also wasn’t angry, immobilized, or sick with worry. He was singing “A Song of Ascents.” He recognized that inexplicably, this was the path to building the Jewish family and securing its future prosperity.
Knowing who he was, he survived the intimidation. Understanding what he was doing, he sang his way through it.
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For a full exposition on this medrash, see Singing in Battle and Likkutei Sichot Volume 20, Vayeitze 1