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Our sages tell us a story.
Many years ago, a fox wandered through the land and found itself walking by a river. As it looked into the water, it saw its own reflection. It stopped to admire its beautiful brown-reddish fur, its clever eyes and its cute ears.
Suddenly, the reflection disappeared as a school of fish darted by.
The fox looked at the fish curiously. They were obviously running away from something.
Looking around, it saw a fisherman down the river, standing in the shallows with a net in hand.
"Little fish! little fish!" The fox cried out.
The fish swam around, waiting to hear the fox's wise teachings, as the fox was well known to be the smartest animal in the world.
"Why don't you come live with me?" the fox asked. "There are so many dangers in the water."
The fish gaped and looked at each other as fish do. Was this the smartest animal in the world?
One of the fish spoke up. "The river might have its dangers, but it gives us life. We will never replace it with anything else."
They flipped their fins and soon disappeared into the waters.
The fox remained on the riverbank, looking again on its reflection and pondering whether it should also learn to live in the river.
And so it is with Israel: It is our traditions that give us life and nothing can replace them. Though we may face dangers, we will overcome them.