In this week’s Torah Portion, Rabbi Shamshon Rephael Hirsch points out that the birth of the Nation of Israel was deliberately engineered to be unlike that of all nations.

Normally, a nation grows slowly, gradually, to greater prominence, perhaps breaking free of colonial rulers but gaining internal strength. Israel, however, descended from the greatness of Avraham, who held sway over the whole region, to Yaakov, who worked seven years for each of his wives, fathered children through servants, and then became a subject of the Egyptian pharoah. Then, of course, the generations thereafter were subjugated further. This was all done to see G-d’s Hand at work, to show that we are truly G-d’s Nation. This Nation was Created and Forged by G-d through unnatural, even miraculous means.

Today, however, a nation can be destroyed, vanquished, and come back stronger than ever — without visible manifestations of G-d’s Hand. This is because our values of charity and compassion, part of monotheism and the call to emulate our Compassionate Creator, have spread across the world. The nations defeated in recent wars were not destroyed, subjugated, and enslaved like the defeated nations of Roman times. On the contrary, other nations helped them (and are helping them) to rebuild.

Now, that same compassion will come to the fore, providing a message of hope and recovery to the nations that suffered such great losses from the recent Tsunami. These nations can and will recover, in large part thanks to massive assistance pouring in from countries around the world. Israel has already sent medical supplies, forensic experts, and a team from Zaka, the rescue and recovery organization that ordinarily works to recover the bodies of victims of terrorism. [The Zaka team is called “the team that sleeps with the dead” — because when everyone else leaves for the night, they are still working.] Jewish organizations in this country have responded quickly as well.

Yes, the nations affected will recover, and we hope to send them a message of hope — because, in at least some ways, today the world is a more compassionate place.