Dear Friends,
Although we were not there – actually, we were there – spiritually.
Such is the reminder which our Tradition offers regarding two critical episodes in the book of Exodus,
which form much of the foundation of Jewish historic lore and life. These episodes occur in this week
and next week’s Torah portions.
This week, although we did not walk through the wall of water to cross the Sea of Reeds, which God
parted for us so we could escape Pharoah’s charioteers, we are to remember that we were there in
spirit.
Similarly in next week’s signal passage of God pronouncing the Ten Commandments from atop Mt. Sinai,
again we were not there upon our feet below the quaking mountain, but we were there in spirit.
Jewish life includes those of every generation at these seminal moments of our people’s historic
narrative. It would be such a loss to allow only that those of the generation of Moses to witness such a
monumental deliverance from oppression, and an equally ground-shaking revelation of commandments
from God. Imagine if only those alive back then were privileged to experience God’s omnipotence and
God’s Divine message? All other generations – including our own – would only learn about our
foundational moments via books. Rather, our Tradition evolved the ethic that we all stood at Sinai and
we all were at the waters, and that spiritual memory is as real and as profound as actual presence.
This is a transformational understanding and reworking of collective memory!
For any community, society or civilization to survive, as we have for over three millennia, there must be
a collective memory. To arrogate or derogate memory to oneself, or limitedly to others, is to
manipulate the communal discourse, not to exalt it, and our Jewish sages opposed it. Thus, we see all
others in our present day, and in every other generation, as Jewishly equal and commanding of honor
and respect, irrespective of whether they lived alongside Moses, King David or Emma Lazarus.
Moreover, it is our shared responsibility to own and perpetuate our memories. Hence, Hanukkah and
Pesach, which are memory-centric celebrations. They charge us to retell the stories, add a little, and
keep them rolling.
It is all because we were there!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
Although we were not there – actually, we were there – spiritually.
Such is the reminder which our Tradition offers regarding two critical episodes in the book of Exodus,
which form much of the foundation of Jewish historic lore and life. These episodes occur in this week
and next week’s Torah portions.
This week, although we did not walk through the wall of water to cross the Sea of Reeds, which God
parted for us so we could escape Pharoah’s charioteers, we are to remember that we were there in
spirit.
Similarly in next week’s signal passage of God pronouncing the Ten Commandments from atop Mt. Sinai,
again we were not there upon our feet below the quaking mountain, but we were there in spirit.
Jewish life includes those of every generation at these seminal moments of our people’s historic
narrative. It would be such a loss to allow only that those of the generation of Moses to witness such a
monumental deliverance from oppression, and an equally ground-shaking revelation of commandments
from God. Imagine if only those alive back then were privileged to experience God’s omnipotence and
God’s Divine message? All other generations – including our own – would only learn about our
foundational moments via books. Rather, our Tradition evolved the ethic that we all stood at Sinai and
we all were at the waters, and that spiritual memory is as real and as profound as actual presence.
This is a transformational understanding and reworking of collective memory!
For any community, society or civilization to survive, as we have for over three millennia, there must be
a collective memory. To arrogate or derogate memory to oneself, or limitedly to others, is to
manipulate the communal discourse, not to exalt it, and our Jewish sages opposed it. Thus, we see all
others in our present day, and in every other generation, as Jewishly equal and commanding of honor
and respect, irrespective of whether they lived alongside Moses, King David or Emma Lazarus.
Moreover, it is our shared responsibility to own and perpetuate our memories. Hence, Hanukkah and
Pesach, which are memory-centric celebrations. They charge us to retell the stories, add a little, and
keep them rolling.
It is all because we were there!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
