The Power of Persistence (Shemot – 01/10/26)

The Power of Persistence

We stand here today, as a people woven from threads of history, threads of promise, and threads of unwavering persistence. Our story, stretching back millennia, is not just a tale of survival; it is a testament to an intentional, deep-seated mission.

Look back to the start of our nation in Egypt. Seventy souls entered a foreign land, and though Joseph and all his generation passed, the next generation didn’t just survive—they exploded. As the Torah tells us: “But the Israelites were fertile and prolific; they multiplied and became exceptionally strong, so that the land was filled with them.” This was not accidental. In the shadow of a foreign identity, with their patriarchs and matriarchs gone, they embraced the promise given to Abraham: “Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs.” Safety in numbers? Perhaps. But more profoundly, it was a mission of continuity, a conscious effort to fulfill their destiny.

The more they were oppressed, the stronger their resolve became. Pharaoh, seeing this explosion of life, escalated his brutality. He set taskmasters to break them, yet “the more they were oppressed, the more they increased and spread out, so that the [Egyptians] came to dread the Israelites.” Even when Pharaoh decreed that every newborn Hebrew boy must be thrown into the Nile, a lone act of defiance—a man of the House of Levi taking a wife, who bore a son—gave us our savior, Moses. That child was hidden, protected by a mother’s bravery and a father’s determination.

This spirit, this innate strength, is what binds us, then and now.

We see a replica of this determination in Israel today. The trauma of October 7th, 2023, the loss of 1,200 innocent lives, the subsequent sacrifices of thousands more in the fight for our safety—these are not mere statistics; they are deep, painful wounds.

Yet, what is the response? You walk the streets of Israel and you see a people not only striving to bring life back to normal, but actively creating more life.

Israel typically boasts one of the highest birth rates among developed nations, with a total fertility rate persistently around 2.9 to 3.1 children per woman.

These numbers declined slightly between 2015 and 2023.However, in the first five months of 2024, in the middle of a horrific war, fertility rates shifted direction. Rather than continuing to decline, they returned to 2022 levels and even slightly surpassed them.

This is a conscious act of resistance. Israeli families are living and reproducing with a mission: to replenish, to strengthen, to declare unequivocally that our future will not be defined by those who seek our destruction. It takes tremendous human capital to keep this country protected, prosperous, and strong, and Israelis are determined to supply that capital.

This is the enduring spirit of our people. Despite the danger, despite the opposition, we will survive and we will strive. It is what we did 3,500 years ago, and it is what we continue to do today.

We are a link in an unbreakable chain. Our life is our mission. Our growth is our victory.

Wishing you an inspired week,

R’ Neil