Parshat Yitro - Jewish Identity
by Rabbi Lobel

(Chapter 18 verse 4) "You ( Israel ) saw what I (G-d) had done to Egypt and I lifted you up and placed you on eagles' wings and I brought you towards me."

The Jewish nation is about to receive the Torah. But, before G-d instructs Moses how the Jews must prepare themselves, G-d begins with a promise that he always has, and always will, protect the Jewish people.

The Sforno says that the metaphor "and placed you on eagles' wings" is in reference to the fact that G-d has led the Jews to a place where man has never walked, the desert. Just as the eagle carries its young, soaring above high mountains, in unreachable places, so too G-d had separated Israel from all nations and their lifestyles.

From the Sforno, we see that G-d wanted to isolate the Jewish nation from all other nations. Why? Because Israel was destined to become a "Kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Chapter 18, verse 6).

The miracles of the exodus, splitting the sea, the miracles in the desert, G-d speaking to the entire nation at Mt. Sinai , these alone were not sufficient to create a holy nation. G-d needed to separate Israel from the other nations, to remove foreign influences, to lift the Jewish nation on eagles' wings, beyond the reach of others and closer to G-d. If Israel even partially identified itself with the rest of the world there could have been a loss of commitment to Torah.

To be a nation of priests to G-d, it is crucial to completely separate ourselves from the world in terms of our identity. G-d understood this and removed them from civilization so the Jewish nation would come to this conclusion.

As individuals, we must set precautions, especially in the Galus (exile), to preserve our Jewish identity, and be "a kingdom of priests."