Sometimes it is a picture. Other times it is a movie or a moment in our lives. Small memories that make an indelible impact on us and stay with us for a lifetime. And, if you are like me, it is a book. For the past 18 years, I have had a book in my office that has a resounding impact on the way that I relate to our Jewish identity and this week’s parsha.
Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, the author of Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish Memory, described Judaism “as a technology of memory, a set of practices to make the past present.” Yerushalmi explains that the Torah uses the phrase “זכור”, memory, no less than 169 times placing the act of remembering at the forefront of the Jewish religious experience. In the last 20 verses of this week’s Parsha, כי תצא, Ki Teitzei, we see the word appear four times.
וְזָכַרְתָּ֗ כִּ֣י עֶ֤בֶד הָיִ֙יתָ֙ בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם וַֽיִּפְדְּךָ֛ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ מִשָּׁ֑ם עַל־כֵּ֞ן אָנֹכִ֤י מְצַוְּךָ֙ לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת אֶת־הַדָּבָ֖ר הַזֶּֽה׃
Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and that your God redeemed you from there; therefore do I command you to observe this commandment - Devarim 24:18
וְזָ֣כַרְתָּ֔ כִּי־עֶ֥בֶד הָיִ֖יתָ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם עַל־כֵּ֞ן אָנֹכִ֤י מְצַוְּךָ֙ לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת אֶת־הַדָּבָ֖ר הַזֶּֽה׃
Always remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore do I command you to observe this commandment - Devarim 24:22
The final two instances are taken for the last portion of this week’s parsha which is known as פרשת זכור, the Parsha of Remembrance, read before the holiday of פורים, Purim.
זָכ֕וֹר אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֥ה לְךָ֖ עֲמָלֵ֑ק בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶ֥ם מִמִּצְרָֽיִם…תִּמְחֶה֙ אֶת־זֵ֣כֶר עֲמָלֵ֔ק מִתַּ֖חַת הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם לֹ֖א תִּשְׁכָּֽח׃
Remember all that Amalek did to you on the way out of Egypt…destroy the memory of Amalek from upon the earth, do not forget - Devarim 25:17-19
The act of remembering and the function of memory is one of the lasting thoughts that Moshe leaves us before he hands over the reins to Yehoshua. The image of Moshe pleading with בני ישראל, the Jewish people, to remember their history, the covenant that they signed with Hashem and the hope for the future was imprinted into my mind. I wondered how a leader, realizing that his time is coming to a close, throws a last ditch hail mary in the hopes that his message will stick for generations to come, not being totally sure it will land.
This thought rattled inside my mind for years until I met Rabbi J.J. Shachter, a renowned speaker, author and professor at Yeshiva University. His class, Jewish Autobiography, introduced me to the writings of Yerushalmi and the significance of speaking about one’s history, imparting a sense of connection to something greater than ourselves and reminding us of the journey our ancestors set us on thousands of years earlier.
Rabbi Shachter, the son of the famous chaplain, Rabbi Herschel Shachter, who liberated Buchenwald where Rabbi Lau, the future Chief Rabbi of Israel, was held captive imparted to us the message that his father planted in him so many years ago which was the same message that Moshe was attempting to share with us in his final days.
Yerushalmi explains that the Jewish infatuation with the act of remembering is seeded in the rituals and associated recitations that go along with the acts we do on a daily, monthly and yearly basis. Our personal dedication to the Jewish way of life acts as a tether, keeping us anchored in the ways Moshe set out for us as dictated to him by Hashem.
Whether it be תלמוד תורה, גמילות חסדים, ומדות טובות - learning Torah, acts of wholehearted kindness or conducting ourselves with the correct character - each of us is charged with the task of showing up in our communities, our places of work and wherever else we find ourselves בצלם אלקים, in the image of Hashem.
Moshe provided us with the blueprint to accomplish that as he outlined in the first portion of the פרשה. He reminds us that the manner in which we conduct ourselves with the members both inside and outside of our communities acts as a model to our children. Our children will learn from our example, they will see how we treat our Jewish story and will determine whether they should carry the torch for their children and beyond.
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt”l once shared that one of the most bewildering sources of antisemitism is in the response that the non-Jewish world has to Jews who show little care and respect for Judaism. Rabbi Sacks explains that once Jews are seen disrespecting the history of the Jewish people, its way of life and the manner in which it invests in their future generations that, in and of itself, gives rise to others to show less respect and kindness.
Last week, I began visiting our ECE and Kindergarten classes to share the stories and lessons of the פרשה with them. I have been counting down the days til I had the opportunity to spend time with some of the most sweet and caring souls you could ever imagine. And, yet, the source of excitement didn’t stem from that. I relished the chance to see the smiles on the faces of our youngest stars waiting for the chance to shine brighter as they ask questions, share their thoughts and begin to see their place in the larger tapestry of their people, of our people, of the Jewish people.
With just a week away from the beginning of Ashkenazi Selichot, the additional prayers that we recite during the ימים נוראים, the High Holidays, we hear the קולות, the sounds of the shofar horn, searing into our minds and souls the sound we heard when we received the Torah, when we conquered the Land of Israel and throughout many celebrations in the בית המקדש, the Holy Temple. It reminds us that without our past our future will not be grounded in the words of Moshe, the wisdom of Shlomo and the guidance of David. Our children are watching us all and waiting for our cue.