Torah Portion - January 10,2008

Parashat Bo, Exodus 10:1-13:16

Memories Can Bring Light at Dark Times

Collective memory is vitally important for Jews. This week, in Parashat Bo, we read about the Exodus from Egypt and are once again reminded that "this day [the anniversary of the first Passover] shall always be a day of remembrance for you. (Exodus 12:14)

And indeed, it has evolved into a day of great remembrance---and not only at the Passover seder. Every year around this time, we arrive at a series of Torah portions that describe the Exodus in much greater detail than when we discuss it at the seder meal. (As hard as that might be to imagine!) As the English name of this biblical book—Exodus—reveals, an entire biblical book is devoted to our liberation from slavery.

We also recall the Exodus every Friday evening, when we recite the full kiddush. That blessing calls Shabbat itself a zecher yitsiat mitrayim, a commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt. Perhaps this is because Shabbat is a taste of true freedom. It is there for our taking, if we simply accept it.  Shabbat offers the opportunity to liberate ourselves from the tyranny of our workday week obligations.  

We also remember our liberation every day, in the morning service, when we thank the Creator for making us free human beings. Our tradition is constantly reminding us to rejoice in our freedom, and to express gratitude for it by remembering it.

And yet, a commandment to remember begs the question:  Is there something else, something which we are commanded to forget? As Rabbi Harold Kudan has pointed out, it is truly remarkable that the Bible records no history of our ancestors holding long term resentment against Egypt. Although there are many types of rabbinic and medieval literature that expand upon many topics, antipathy toward Egypt for the countless years of bitter slavery our ancestors spent there is not one of them.

Perhaps, during the actual experience, the Israelites did express anger or resentment toward the Egyptians. Eventually, however, they must have let this go, to focus on building their new lives in the Promised Land.

So we, their descendents, have chosen not to remember the cruelties that had preceded liberation, but to focus on the glory of liberation; on hope for the future. This week's portion is a call to remember the good and forget that which makes us less than human.

As Rabbi Elyse Frishman reminds us, the deep darkness of the plagues led to the light that was the renewal of our people. The power of collective memory can ignite the brightest of lights, even when it feels like midnight.