Three men, an Italian, a Frenchman, and a Jew, were condemned to be executed. Their captors told them that they had the right to a final meal before the execution.

"Give me some good French wine and French bread," the Frenchman requested. After he had savored his last crumb and last sip of wine, they executed him.

Next was the Italian's turn. "Give me a big plate of pasta," he said. They brought it to him, he ate it, and then they executed him.

Now it was the Jew's turn. "I want a big bowl of strawberries," he said.

"Strawberries!” his captors exclaimed, “They aren't even in season!"

"No? So I'll wait..."

Jokes aside, throughout our long history, the Jewish people have consistently proven to be a truly optimistic and resilient nation. It’s our positive attitude that has helped us survive against all odds, and longer than any other nation. This attitude is no coincidence or even genetic disposition; it was taught to us by G‑d himself in this week’s Torah portion.

When Moshe is instructed to return to Egypt and free the Jews, he complains, “Ever since I have come to Pharaoh, things have only gotten only worse!” G‑d responds with the secret of Jewish positive thinking, which can be found in the two ancient Hebrew words “Ani Hashem “– “I am G‑d”. With this very brief response, G‑d was not pulling rank on Moshe or being condescending. He was basically saying, “Listen Moshe, you may be the greatest of prophets, the wisest of all men, and able to ask good questions, but at the end of the day, I am Hashem. Trust me on this one. Yes, I understand that from your mortal perspective it appears to be getting worse, but from my Divine vantage point I can see the seeds of redemption and freedom. If you just place your trust in me, and ignore the misleading facts on the ground, everything will work out okay.”

Before his passing, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, boldly proclaimed that the final and lasting redemption for all of mankind was about to happen. A grand optimistic idea, indeed! But what about the facts on the ground? What about Iran and their nuclear ambitions? What about Al Qaeda and ISIS? What about all the many tragedies around the world? What about all the natural disasters, civil strife and economic hardships? Sounds pretty bleak to me.

Yet the clear and unequivocal answer is the same one given to Moshe, thousands of years ago: Put a little faith in G‑d and the facts on the ground don’t matter. The same G‑d who thousands of years ago in Egypt transformed the bleakest of realities into a most dazzling turnaround of events, can do exactly the same for us, provided, of course, that we maintain that extra dose of Jewish optimism and faith taught to us by the Creator himself!