It’s a question that sits at the heart of Jewish identity, and one that Josephus, the first-century Romano-Jewish historian, grapples with in his work, Against Apion.
He's essentially making a case – a powerful one – for the unwavering commitment of the Jewish people to their halakha, their laws. He argues that it's a dedication so profound, so deeply ingrained, that it transcends even the fear of death.
Josephus boldly claims that you’d be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of Jews who have ever betrayed their laws. And not just betrayals in the face of ordinary death, mind you, but even when confronted with the most agonizing tortures imaginable. What would it take to make you renounce your most fundamental beliefs?
He suggests that even our enemies, those who have conquered and subjugated us, sometimes inflicted such horrific deaths not out of pure hatred, but out of a morbid curiosity. They wanted to see if there really were people in this world who believed that no evil was so great as to force them to violate their own laws. It's a chilling thought, isn't it? To be tested like that.
Now, you might ask, what makes us so different? Why are we, as Jews, seemingly more courageous in dying for our laws than others? Josephus has an answer for that, too. It’s not that we’re inherently braver, but rather that we’re trained. We submit to a life governed by rules and restrictions that others might find unbearable. We’re accustomed to hard work, to simple meals, to moderation. We adhere to strict rules regarding marriage and family life. We observe the Shabbat (the Sabbath), our sacred time of rest.
These aren’t just random customs, but rather daily exercises in self-discipline. They forge a kind of spiritual resilience. As Josephus puts it, “other men do not easily submit to the easier things in which we are instituted…whereas our being accustomed willingly to submit to laws in these instances, renders us fit to show our fortitude upon other occasions also.”
In other words, the small, daily acts of devotion prepare us for the ultimate test. The willingness to forgo immediate gratification, to adhere to a higher standard, builds a strength of character that allows us to face even death with unwavering resolve. It's a fascinating perspective on the power of ritual and the profound impact of a life lived according to a set of principles.
So, what does this mean for us today? Perhaps it’s a reminder that true strength isn’t always found in grand gestures, but in the quiet, consistent commitment to our values. It's about living with intention, about making conscious choices that reflect our deepest beliefs. And maybe, just maybe, it's about recognizing that even the smallest acts of devotion can prepare us for whatever challenges life may throw our way.
32. Nay, indeed, in case it had so fallen out, that our nation had not been so thoroughly known among all men as they are, and our voluntary submission to our laws had not been so open and manifest as it is, but that somebody had pretended to have written these laws himself, and had read them to the Greeks, or had pretended that he had met with men out of the limits of the known world, that had such reverent notions of God, and had continued a long time in the firm observance of such laws as ours, I cannot but suppose that all men would admire them on a reflection upon the frequent changes they had therein been themselves subject to; and this while those that have attempted to write somewhat of the same kind for politic government, and for laws, are accused as composing monstrous things, and are said to have undertaken an impossible task upon them. And here I will say nothing of those other philosophers who have undertaken any thing of this nature in their writings. But even Plato himself, who is so admired by the Greeks on account of that gravity in his manners, and force in his words, and that ability he had to persuade men beyond all other philosophers, is little better than laughed at and exposed to ridicule on that account, by those that pretend to sagacity in political affairs; although he that shall diligently peruse his writings will find his precepts to be somewhat gentle, and pretty near to the customs of the generality of mankind.
Nay, Plato himself confesseth that it is not safe to publish the true notion concerning God among the ignorant multitude. Yet do some men look upon Plato's discourses as no better than certain idle words set off with great artifice. However, they admire Lycurgus as the principal lawgiver, and all men celebrate Sparta for having continued in the firm observance of his laws for a very long time. So far then we have gained, that it is to be confessed a mark of virtue to submit to laws. [24] But then let such as admire this in the Lacedemonians compare that duration of theirs with more than two thousand years which our political government hath continued; and let them further consider, that though the Lacedemonians did seem to observe their laws exactly while they enjoyed their liberty, yet that when they underwent a change of their fortune, they forgot almost all those laws; while we, having been under ten thousand changes in our fortune by the changes that happened among the kings of Asia, have never betrayed our laws under the most pressing distresses we have been in; nor have we neglected them either out of sloth or for a livelihood. [25] if any one will consider it, the difficulties and labors laid upon us have been greater than what appears to have been borne by the Lacedemonian fortitude, while they neither ploughed their land, nor exercised any trades, but lived in their own city, free from all such pains-taking, in the enjoyment of plenty, and using such exercises as might improve their bodies, while they made use of other men as their servants for all the necessaries of life, and had their food prepared for them by the others; and these good and humane actions they do for no other purpose but this, that by their actions and their sufferings they may be able to conquer all those against whom they make war. I need not add this, that they have not been fully able to observe their laws; for not only a few single persons, but multitudes of them, have in heaps neglected those laws, and have delivered themselves, together with their arms, into the hands of their enemies.
