“And,” Jacob asked, “what about the miracle of the Jews surviving whereas the other nations have not?” “I see nothing miraculous in it, nothing that cannot be explained by natural causes. The Jews have survived since the Diaspora because they have always refused to blend in with other cultures. They have remained separate by virtue of their complex rites, their dietary rules, and the sign of circumcision, which they scrupulously observe. Thus they survive, but at a cost: their stubborn adherence to separateness has drawn down upon them universal hatred.”
