Why did the Jews have to suffer before they can achieve salvation?

Answer 1

First, it should be noted that "salvation" is a Christian concept; Jews do not believe in original sin, nor do they believe someone has to die for your sins, so they also do not believe in the idea of "being saved." For Jews, gaining God's forgiveness is a process involving truly repenting and turning away from sinful actions. But that said, historically, there have been many Christians who believed the Jews had to suffer because God was punishing them for having rejected his Son. This is not something Jews accept or believe. Jews believe there are a number of reasons for suffering: The Bible does give examples of people suffering because they sinned against God, but it also gives examples of bad things happening to good people (like Job), because we are told that life contains both good days and bad days.

Many contemporary Jews believe Jewish suffering is the result of Christian prejudice-- Jews who refused to accept Christianity were often persecuted or killed for several thousands years, and it was a belief in Christian doctrine that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus (which is historically false, but was widely believed). It is only since the period after the Holocaust that reforms in the Catholic Church and certain Protestant churches have led to Christians no longer unfairly blaming the Jews for the death of Jesus, and showing more tolerance towards Jewish beliefs. But some Christians still believe the Jews will continue to endure suffering until they accept Jesus.