[The Promised Land by Mary Antin]@TWC D-Link bookThe Promised Land CHAPTER II 19/22
And this close relation to God was the source of the strength that sustained the Jew through all the trials of his life in the Pale. Consciously or unconsciously, the Jew identified himself with the cause of righteousness on earth; and hence the heroism with which he met the battalions of tyrants. No empty forms could have impressed the unborn children of the Pale so deeply that they were prepared for willing martyrdom almost as soon as they were weaned from their mother's breast.
The flame of the burning bush that had dazzled Moses still lighted the gloomy prison of the Pale.
Behind the mummeries, ceremonials, and symbolic accessories, the object of the Jew's adoration was the face of God. This has been many times proved by those who escaped from the Pale, and, excited by sudden freedom, thought to rid themselves, by one impatient effort, of every strand of their ancient bonds.
Eager to be merged in the better world in which they found themselves, the escaped prisoners determined on a change of mind, a change of heart, a change of manner.
They rejoiced in their transformation, thinking that every mark of their former slavery was obliterated.
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