Yeah, I’m Special

Balak was terrified. Not of our weapons. Not of our land. Just us. The Jewish people, wandering in the desert, minding our own business, yet he loses his mind. So he hires Bilam to curse us. Not to fight us. To curse us. Why? Because he knows there’s something about us that’s different.

This happened thousands of years ago, yet this behavior is still happening today. Our enemies don’t need swords; they just need to curse us. Social media campaigns, hashtags, marches, watermelons, memes, distortions. All aimed at breaking the Jewish spirit. And let’s be honest, some of it gets to us. We start asking questions. “Why us?” “Why now?” “Why is everyone focused on Israel when there are over 50 other conflicts currently happening in the world?” But that’s the point. It is us. It has always been us. Because we carry something no one else does. We’re not just another country or another religion. We are a people with a purpose and the world knows it. That’s why they’re obsessed with us.

Haters love to throw around the term “Chosen People” as an insult. Like it’s a reason to hate us. But let me flip that around. If being chosen is the reason we’re targeted, then it’s also the reason we should stand taller. Because being chosen never meant being better. It means being moral. It means being ethical. It means carrying the world forward based on our actions.

So yeah, maybe it’s not always easy to be a Jew. But it’s always worth it. Balak tried to curse us. He failed. Bilam tried to curse us. And out of his mouth came “Ma tovu ohalecha Yaakov.” Blessings.

You want to know what the real power of the Jewish people is? You can’t curse what God already blessed. You can’t cancel us. You can’t erase us. We’ve been here before and will be here for eternity.

So when someone tries to throw “chosen” or other antisemitic tropes at us like it’s an insult, don’t shrink. Stand up straighter. Smile. Because what they hate about us, is exactly what we love about ourselves.

Plus, we ain’t goin’ nowhere

Shabbat Shalom!