Who We Are and Where We’re Going
转诇诪讜讚 讘讘诇讬 讘专讻讜转 讬讘:讘-讬讙
转谞讬讗, 讗诪专 诇讛诐 讘谉 讝讜诪讗 诇讞讻诪讬诐: 讜讻讬 诪讝讻讬专讬谉 讬爪讬讗转 诪爪专讬诐 诇讬诪讜转 讛诪砖讬讞? 讜讛诇讗 讻讘专 谞讗诪专: (讬专诪讬讛讜 讻”讙) 讛谞讛 讬诪讬诐 讘讗讬诐 谞讗诐 讛’ 讜诇讗 讬讗诪专讜 注讜讚 讞讬 讛’ 讗砖专 讛注诇讛 讗转 讘谞讬 讬砖专讗诇 诪讗专抓 诪爪专讬诐, 讻讬 讗诐 讞讬 讛’ 讗砖专 讛注诇讛 讜讗砖专 讛讘讬讗 讗转 讝专注 讘讬转 讬砖专讗诇 诪讗专抓 爪驻讜谞讛 讜诪讻诇 讛讗专爪讜转 讗砖专 讛讚讞转讬诐 砖诐!
讗诪专讜 诇讜: 诇讗 砖转注拽专 讬爪讬讗转 诪爪专讬诐 诪诪拽讜诪讛, 讗诇讗 砖转讛讗 砖注讘讜讚 诪诇讻讬讜转 注讬拽专, 讜讬爪讬讗转 诪爪专讬诐 讟驻诇 诇讜. 讻讬讜爪讗 讘讜 讗转讛 讗讜诪专: (讘专讗砖讬转 诇”讛) 诇讗 讬拽专讗 砖诪讱 注讜讚 讬注拽讘 讻讬 讗诐 讬砖专讗诇 讬讛讬讛 砖诪讱. 诇讗 砖讬注拽专 讬注拽讘 诪诪拽讜诪讜, 讗诇讗 讬砖专讗诇 注讬拽专 讜讬注拽讘 讟驻诇 诇讜 讜讻谉 讛讜讗 讗讜诪专: (讬砖注讬讛讜 诪”讙) 讗诇 转讝讻专讜 专讗砖谞讜转 讜拽讚诪谞讬讜转 讗诇 转转讘讜谞谞讜, 讗诇 转讝讻专讜 专讗砖谞讜转 讝讛 砖注讘讜讚 诪诇讻讬讜转, 讜拽讚诪谞讬讜转 讗诇 转转讘讜谞谞讜 讝讜 讬爪讬讗转 诪爪专讬诐
Babylonian Talmud 鈥� Berakhot 12b-13a
It has been taught: Ben Zoma said to the Sages: “Will we mention the Exodus from Egypt [when reciting the Shema’] in the days of the Messiah? Was it not long ago said: Assuredly, a time is coming – declares the Lord – when they shall no more say: ‘As the Lord lives, who led the Israelites out of the land of Egypt;’ but rather, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought and led the offspring of the House of Israel from the northland and from all the lands to which I have banished them’?” (Jer. 23:7鈥�8)
They replied: “It is not that [mention of] the Exodus shall be removed from its place [in the Shema’], rather [our deliverance from] the oppression of other nations shall become primary and the Exodus shall become secondary. Similarly you read: You shall be called Jacob no more, but Israel shall be your name. (Gen. 35:15) It is not that [the name] Jacob shall be removed, rather that Israel shall be the principal name and Jacob a secondary one. And thus it says: Do not recall what happened of old, or ponder what happened of yore! (Isa. 43:18) Do not recall what happened of old – this means the oppression of other nations; or ponder what happened of yore – this means the Exodus from Egypt.”
Can we ever break free from the troubled darkness of our past? The midrash above teaches that even radical changes in our personal lives or national destiny do not erase reminders of who or where we previously were. The Shema’, our most fundamental statement of faith, will always contain the tension between our prophets’ utopian vision of the messianic future and our people’s collective memory of the persecution we faced in prior centuries. Our personal journeys, like Jacob’s, demonstrate the power of a multilayered identity built upon maintaining, not uprooting, symbols of our old selves.
Often I have witnessed a friend change his or her name not after marriage but as a response to another kind of major life event. Many of my peers have taken a new name as part of the spiritual transformation involved in their conversion to Judaism or have switched to using their given Hebrew names in becoming ba’alei teshuvah (born-again Jews). A few friends, in struggling through a debilitating illness, have followed the talmudic observation of Rabbi Isaac (BT Rosh Hashanah 16b) that a change of one’s name can remove causes of misfortune. In all of these cases, I have seen a modern Jew reenact the famous episode in this week’s Torah portion of Jacob’s wrestling with the Divine to become Israel.
Like Jacob, my friends have courageously accepted that their past and life’s adversities would not disappear. May we, too, bravely embrace opportunities to reshape ourselves while affirming the paths that have brought us to where we are today.
