by Rabbi Alissa Forrest
from the January 2008 Ruach
During the month of January, we read from the Torah in Exodus recalling the Israelites journey from slavery to freedom. We stand behind Moses as he goes before Pharaoh requesting “Let my people go!” We experience the terrible plagues—the bloodied water of the Nile, the land filled with frogs and swarms of insects, death of the Egyptian cattle, hail and more—when Pharaoh refuses to let them go. Finally, we travel with the Israelites out of Egypt singing and dancing as they cross the Sea of Reeds.
Rabbi Irving Greenberg explains that “in Judaism’s teaching, the Exodus is not a one-time event but a norm by which all of life should be judged and guided. The Exodus is an ‘orienting event’—an event that sets in motion and guides the Jewish way.” It offers “us both a model for understanding the world and a guide for acting in it. By providing us with a paradigm for making sense of our existence,” Rabbi Michael Goldberg explains, this master story furnishes “us with a basis for answering some of the most fundamental questions that we human beings can have: Who we are? What is our world like? And given who we are and what are world is like, what then is the best way for us to respond to such a world as this?” In retelling the Exodus we not only recall this historical event, but we add ourselves to the event. We understand the hardships of slavery and know the joys of freedom; therefore, these events serve as a guide for how we respond to the world around us.
We often think of the telling of the Exodus from Egypt being exclusively associated with the celebration of Passover. But the Torah tells us “You shall remember the day when you came out of Egypt all the days of your life.” (Deut. 16:3) Not only on Passover, but each and every day we are to remember our days in slavery and our journey to freedom. Judaism ensures that this story is retold every day through our words, our actions, our prayers, and our observances of Jewish rituals. No less than 36 times in the Torah is the Israelite community told to be kind to the stranger, to care for his/her needs, to give tzedakah, and to love the stranger because they were strangers in the land of Egypt.
We might think that we celebrate Shabbat because God worked for six days creating the world and rested on the seventh. But in Deuteronomy we are also commanded to celebrate Shabbat as a reminder that we were slaves in Egypt and God freed us with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. During Kiddush on Friday nights and in reciting Mi Chamocha during services, we recall the Exodus from Egypt. When we wrap ourselves in a tallit and place t’fillin on our head and arm, we are to remember that God freed us from Egypt. And nowhere is the Exodus brought more to life and incorporated more into our personal identities than in the celebration of Passover.
As we once again experience the Exodus from Egypt during our Torah portions this month, let this story serve as a guide for our actions, decisions, and passions. Each and every day this month let us remember to care for the needs of the strangers in our community. Each and every day let us take responsibility to help those still enslaved around the world. Each and every day let us make it our duty to set aside money for tzedakah, for we were strangers in the land of Egypt.
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