A few years ago, right before the pandemic, I met the Pulitzer prize-winning author, Doris Kearns Goodwin, at a writers conference in Rancho Mirage. She was speaking about her book, “Leadership: In Turbulent Times,” which focuses in part on the way great leaders use stories to communicate their messages.

I was wearing a name badge that included my title and, when I spoke to her, she mentioned something to me about the Jewish genius of remembering our past through stories.

I thought about that conversation when I was studying this week’s parasha, Bo.

We are commanded multiple times in the portion to remember and retell the story of our exodus from Egypt:

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶל־הָעָ֗ם זָכ֞וֹר אֶת־הַיּ֤וֹם הַזֶּה֙ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְצָאתֶ֤ם מִמִּצְרַ֙יִם֙ מִבֵּ֣ית עֲבָדִ֔ים כִּ֚י בְּחֹ֣זֶק יָ֔ד הוֹצִ֧יא יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם מִזֶּ֑ה…׃

And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, on which you went free from Egypt, the house of bondage, how the ETERNAL freed you from it with a mighty hand… (Exodus 13:3)

וְהִגַּדְתָּ֣ לְבִנְךָ֔ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֖וּא לֵאמֹ֑ר בַּעֲב֣וּר זֶ֗ה עָשָׂ֤ה יְהוָה֙ לִ֔י בְּצֵאתִ֖י מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃

And you shall explain to your child on that day, ‘It is because of what the ETERNAL did for me when I went free from Egypt.’ (13:8)

We are commanded to remember what happened to us and, importantly, tell that story to our children, to the generations to come.

The rabbis notice something very interesting and unusual about the last verse. It describes the experience of more than three thousand years ago in personal terms: “what the ETERNAL did for me when I went free from Egypt.”

We are to tell our children the story throughout the generations, long past the time when any of us, personally, experienced the miracle.

This is part of the Jewish genius. Our master story of liberation belongs to each and every Jew going backward and forward in time.

We each know the pain, humiliation, and degradation of our 400 years in bondage, and so we should be especially sensitive to the pain and suffering of the stranger. We should be immensely grateful for the many blessings we have experienced since, especially at this moment (notwithstanding its challenges). We know unprecedented freedom and prosperity as a Jewish community in America and are privileged to witness the rebirth of a sovereign state of Israel that is strong, vibrant, and resilient.

These blessings, the miracles of our tradition, belong to each of us. We must not take them for granted for a single moment.

Studying these verses now has special significance for me as I consider what it means to see oneself deeply connected to the story of the Jewish people. What happens to our people is experienced personally for each and every one of us.

Liberation. Pogrom. Shoah. Independence. It’s all part of our shared story. So are the horrors of October 7 and its aftermath. What’s happening in Israel and on college campuses is personal because it’s part of the story of our family, our people.

May this moment, in the fullness of time, be one that we look back on in future generations with gratitude, so that some day, years from now, our descendants will say of this moment: “I remember and give thanks to God for the strength we had to endure, to persevere, and to overcome the challenges we faced.”

I give thanks for being part of this powerful, beautiful, and meaningful story.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Yoshi