The “Hand” of God

BRUCE  BERNSTEIN

My father died in 1960 when I was three years old. I never knew him and sadly, have no memories of him at all.  I’ve never even seen an old photo of us together.  Following his death, my mother, sister, and I moved from Virginia to Massachusetts.  We lived with my maternal grandparents for a few years while my Mom, a widow at 33 with no college degree, battled through depression and somehow created a very loving home.

My mom’s father was an extremely religious Jew whose family emigrated from Eastern Europe around 1900 to escape persecution.  He attended synagogue seven days a week – twice a day except on Saturday when he just attended a three-hour morning service conducted entirely in Hebrew.  As my surrogate father, “Grandpa” took me everywhere, including to synagogue. While I didn’t go every day, I found it frustrating to utter words that I learned to recite in Hebrew but had no real understanding about what I was saying. After my Bar Mitzvah, I pulled back from Grandpa’s Orthodox synagogue. As an adult, I joined a Conservative synagogue, and ultimately chose a Reform version of Judaism.

Although I don’t attend services on a regular basis, I am convinced that God exists.  Something about my early years by Grandpa’s side created a belief system in me that is hard to explain.  The Old Testament says that the Jews are God’s “chosen people.” (1)   Some have used that as a club to batter us with charges that we consider ourselves superior to others.  I think these people completely miss the point.  What were Jews “chosen” to do?  I believe we were chosen to carry on God’s teachings and make the world a better place.  Chosen to do the “hard” things like prevailing over those who killed us and continue to try. Chosen to embrace education and family. Chosen to be leaders in medicine, science, and entertainment which enrich all of mankind.  Chosen to battle back against hatred and discrimination, even when it is directed against other groups.  Chosen to reclaim the Holy Land from which we all sprang.  And chosen to endure as a people perpetually under siege who refuse to go away.

With all of the trials and tribulations that Jews have endured, many might wonder why we still believe in a higher power?  I personally believe that sometimes God grants our wishes and sometimes He does not.  No one really knows God’s ways, but He has given me ample reasons to believe.

Here is just one of many.  Remember how I never knew my father?  I found out in my forties that his unfulfilled dream was to be a radio announcer. That was a part of my own career path that I pursued from the age of 14.  I started out in radio, became a four time Emmy Award winning TV producer, and am currently a podcast host.  My father’s unfulfilled dream became my reality.  That is no accident.  I believe that is the “Hand” of God.