כִּֽי־גֻנֹּ֣ב גֻּנַּ֔בְתִּי מֵאֶ֖רֶץ הָעִבְרִ֑ים וְגַם־פֹּה֙ לֹא־עָשִׂ֣יתִֽי מְא֔וּמָה כִּֽי־שָׂמ֥וּ אֹתִ֖י בַּבּֽוֹר׃
Sebab sesungguhnya aku diculik dari negeri orang Ibrani, dan di sini pun aku tidak berbuat apa-apa yang pantas membuat mereka memasukkan aku ke dalam lubang tahanan.”
Sefer Chasidim
An Israelite that hears it being said about him that he is a “gentile” must say, “I am a Jew.” From whence do we know this? From Moses, our teacher, peace be with him. He said, “Lord of all the Universe, since I did not merit to enter the Holy Land, let my bones enter the Land as did the bones of Joseph.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “He who admits to ties with the Land will be buried in the Land. Joseph was accorded this consideration since he said, ‘For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews’ (Gen. 40:15), therefore his bones merited to be buried in the Land. But you who remained silent when you heard them say about you, ‘An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds (Exod. 2:19) and you did not say, ‘I am a Hebrew,’ therefore your bones will not enter the Land.”1Midrash Rabbah, ed. Horeb, Deuteronomy, Chapter II, p. 8.