Memory and the Exodus from Egypt
讝指讻锃嬜� 讗侄转-讛址铿癸瓔诐 讛址铿吨蹲� 讗植铿蹲� 讬职爪指讗转侄诐 诪执铿局醋χ白�址讬执诐 诪执铿敝底欁� 注植讘指讚执讬诐 铿恢醋� 铿敝白椫棺栔蹲� 讬指讚 讛锃嬜χ醋欁� 讛’ 讗侄转职讻侄诐 诪执铿吨蹲�
Zakhor鈥擱emember this day, on which you went free from Egypt, from the house of bondage, for with a mighty hand Adonai brought you forth from this . . . (Exod. 13:3).
The Exodus from Egypt is the first of several things the Torah commands us to remember (zakhor). What does it mean to remember, and how do we accomplish it?
In addition to the specific ritual 补颈诲别蝉-尘茅尘辞颈谤别 provided in the text itself (such as the observance of Passover [e.g. Exod. 12:14 ff.] and the wearing of tefillin [Exod. 13:9 ff.]), many authorities inferred from the zakhor command an obligation to mention the Exodus out loud, every day. Because of this, the tradition developed of reciting a list of the various things the Torah commands us to remember at the conclusion of the morning prayers. The most common version, known as the Shesh Zekhirot (鈥淪ix Remembrances鈥�), contains:
- the Exodus from Egypt (citing Deut. 16:3)
- standing at Sinai (Deut. 4:9-10)
- the incident with Amalek (Deut. 25:17鈥�19)
- the Golden Calf (Deut. 9:7)
- when Miriam was punished for speaking ill of Moses (Deut. 24:9)
- Shabbat (Exod. 20:8)
With all due wariness about the dangers of reductionism, the list itself is a pretty compelling curriculum for basic Jewish literacy, comprising core components of Jewish narrative and identity.
But beyond the specifics of what we are to remember, the very notion of remembering as a religious obligation鈥攁nd a spiritual, intellectual, and ethical practice鈥攊s itself unusual, even extraordinary.
On the most obvious level, we鈥檙e commanded to remember because we human beings tend to forget. Of course we forget trivialities (where did I put my keys?), and that can be frustrating. But we also forget essential things鈥攐ur values, our place in the world, our humility or our nobility, our identities, our mission鈥攁nd that can be devastating. Especially when we鈥檙e angry or frightened, or distracted or manipulated, we can easily fall prey to becoming, in Abraham Joshua Heschel鈥檚 words, 鈥渁 messenger who forgot the message.鈥� So a daily spiritual practice of calling to mind some of the key elements of our identity and purpose (mostly through narratives, which are easier to remember) makes sense.
But the command to remember鈥攁nd the practice of the 鈥淪ix Remembrances鈥濃�攊sn鈥檛 only about the danger of forgetting. It鈥檚 about a religious obligation to consciously shape our consciousness.
In its broadest sense, the Exodus reminds us that change is possible; both individually and societally, who we were yesterday need not dictate who we are today. But that freedom to change and evolve doesn鈥檛 come automatically. It鈥檚 hard-won, demanding constant internal vigilance and work.
We know that we don鈥檛 wake each morning as blank slates, objectively experiencing a brand-new world, entirely free to choose who and how to be today, or what to think and believe. Among the most powerful things that dictate our current reality is our past experience鈥攐ur memories. Whether we鈥檙e conscious of it or not, the way we perceive and respond to the present is always filtered through and shaped by the past. We see what is through our memories of what was.
But it turns out that the influence goes both ways. Current cognitive research reveals that human memory is fluid and continually evolving. A memory isn鈥檛 like a document we pull up on our computer screen and close again, unchanged. Rather, every time we evoke a memory, we change it. Thus, our memories not only shape our current experience, they are also shaped by our current experience, in a continuous feedback loop.
The Torah and Jewish tradition have long intuited this, understanding that memory is different from history. Jewish memory makes no claim to consistency, completeness, or objectivity. It is brazenly and proudly subjective, selective, and ever evolving. For us, memory is an active process of shaping the past to create a meaningful present and a more hopeful future, the practice of reciting 鈥淪ix Remembrances鈥� being a prime example. History is right or wrong, true or false. Memory is alive or dead, contiguous or broken, meaningful or empty, helpful or destructive.
Perhaps then, the fact that the first command to remember relates to the Exodus from Egypt is no mere accident of narrative chronology. Remembering is part and parcel of the Exodus, because active remembering鈥攃onsciously shaping our consciousness鈥攊s essential to freedom.
The internal feedback loop of past and present tends to be self-confirming and self-reinforcing. So, when we allow it to proceed unconsciously and undirected, our worldview can get stuck in a self-reinforcing pattern, with no real learning. Any false inferences we鈥檝e drawn, untruths we鈥檝e come to believe, distortions in our perceptions of self and other, will go unchallenged. As a result, we will continue to see only what we already believe, without even being aware of it, and we will be in 鈥淓gypt.鈥�
That鈥檚 why propaganda has been a tool of enslavement by Pharaohs in every generation, the Russian effort to shape Americans鈥� opinions through deceptive social media posts being a recent example. Merely learning that 鈥渋nformation鈥� we once read and believed was falsehood, calculated to enflame our fear and anger, is insufficient to alleviate the impact of those falsehoods. Without consciously, intentionally, confronting how those falsehoods have impacted our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, they will continue to shape how we process new information, and reinforce themselves in our consciousness.
It takes particular effort to remember that we have the freedom鈥攁nd therefore the responsibility鈥攖o choose what we allow to take root and remain in our memories. (Of course this freedom is not absolute; our consciousness and memory are influenced by physiological and psychological factors outside of our control. The religious obligation is therefore limited to shaping our consciousness to the extent we are able.)
That鈥檚 what the zakhor command, and the 鈥淪ix Remembrances,鈥� are all about: intentionally calling to mind certain values, practices, commitments, and warnings in order to consciously shape our consciousness, our responses, and our actions. Each item on the list is worthy of examination in its own right, but topping the list: remember the Exodus from Egypt.
Evoking that memory daily does far more than strengthen our identity as Jews. It reminds us to greet the day with gratitude and hope. It prepares our hearts and minds to empathize with the vulnerable, to value equality, freedom, and justice, and to experience pain and anger when those values are violated. It primes our consciousness to see opportunities for action and change in the world around us and within ourselves, rather than seeing inevitability and impossibility.
Most importantly, remembering the Exodus from Egypt is a daily reminder to fully embrace freedom of conscience and consciousness. It鈥檚 a reminder that we have an ethical and spiritual obligation to choose our inner reality, which will in turn shape our outward behavior and ultimately our world. 鈥淩emember鈥濃�攏ot to allow your values, your desires and needs, your attitudes, your emotions, your reactions, to be enslaved to popular culture and societal norms; instead, deliberately shape them yourself. 鈥淩emember鈥濃�攏ot to allow yourself to be a slave even to your own past; instead, deliberately shape your memories yourself鈥斺�渞e-member鈥� them, putting the pieces together in a new, healthier way.
Memory can be a very strict taskmaster or the instrument of our redemption; it can keep us stuck or propel us forward, enslave or free us. We have to choose. It takes vigilance and discipline to revise our mental maps to accord with current reality, rather than contorting reality to conform to our mental maps. But only by doing so can we be truly free. And it is all too easy to accept as inevitable whatever worldview the Pharaohs of our world are currently peddling鈥攊t requires only forgetting. But insisting on our own values, persisting in our vision of what the world could and should be, demands courage, imagination, and a good memory.
Zakhor. Remember.
The following excellent books have influenced this commentary: Joshua Foer, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything; Yehuda Kurtzer, Shuva: The Future of the Jewish Past; Avishai Margalit, The Ethics of Memory; and Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish Memory.
The publication and distribution of the 91快播 Commentary are made possible by a generous grant from Rita Dee (锄鈥漧) and Harold Hassenfeld (锄鈥漧).
