Before Our Eyes

On Mount Sinai, when G-d delivered the 10 Commandments to the Jewish people, they all stood at the foot of the mountain. Men from the age of 20 to 60 numbered 600,000. Together with women, children and the elderly, their numbers were well into the millions. Millions of witnesses saw, heard and experienced something unforgettable, which they would pass on to their descendants forevermore. They all shared the same version of the experience, and this is the basis of our tradition--the report of millions of eyewitnesses, who saw G-d reveal Himself to them personally.

All subsequent religions were formed around the “revelations” of a single individual. The leaders or founders claimed direct divine inspiration but no other religion claims to be based on the revelations of the entire people.

Millions of Jews stood at the foot of Mount Sinai, hearing and witnessing everything. It is not simply a story that was told to us by others. We have a direct, unbroken chain to the people who experienced the initial revelation.

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If the revelation at Mount Sinai was irrefutable, then how is it that Jews are only a tiny minority of the world’s population? Why did the Jewish religion not become as widespread as Christianity, Islam or Buddhism? How did competing ideologies have an opportunity to take root?

Maimonides, in his monumental work “Mishneh Torah,” a compendium of laws covering all 613 mitzvot of the Torah, addresses this question. He writes, “All these things only smooth the path for Moshiach… How? The world has already been filled with the concept of Moshiach, and the words of Torah and mitzvot. The [Christians] say that the mitzvot are true but their time has expired, and the [Muslims] say they have deep meanings and are not intended to be taken at face value. Moshiach will come and reveal all the secrets.

"When Moshiach comes, they will all realize that they inherited falsehoods, and that their prophets and forefathers misled them.”

This, perhaps, is the reason for the rise of the so-called “Judeo-Christian” tradition--to accustom the nations of the world to the concept of Moshiach. They may be mistaken in the identity of Moshiach but the general concept has become well-rooted internationally. When the real Moshiach arises, it will be easier for the nations to accept him, since Moshiach is not a foreign idea.

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Another point: All it took was a single individual to lead millions astray with baseless claims and prophecies. People cling tenaciously to false beliefs despite all evidence to the contrary, and become even more zealous than their leaders, who, after all, realize that it’s a fabrication.

Truth is more powerful than falsehood, and goodness will ultimately triumph over evil. For many generations the Jewish people were persecuted for clinging to their beliefs and refusing to join the mainstream. We have always placed a priority on truth and fight for what we believe regardless of the consequences. Soon we will emerge victorious in this battle. The false religions will fade away and only the truth of One G-d will prevail.