The Secret of Redemptive Memory

Remembering the Exodus from Egypt stands at the center of the Seder night[1]:

“Remember this day that you left Egypt, from the house of slavery…and you shall tell your children on that day, saying ‘because of this that God did for me when he took me out of Egypt’” .

The essence of this mitzvah of ‘ve-higadeta le-vincha’, as the verse makes clear, is the actual mentioning of the events. Thus, even if a person has no children, he must mention the Exodus to others and to himself.

The Mekhilta of R’ Shimon b. Yochai (ch. 13) put it as follows:

“’And when your son asks you tomorrow’ – so if your son asks, tell him, and if he doesn’t ask, don’t tell him. Thus, it says ‘and you shall tell your child’ – even if he doesn’t ask. This is all for one who has a child; what if one has no children? It says ‘And Moshe said to the people: Remember this day…’”

Indeed, we are commanded to remember the Exodus every day, as it says[2]:

“So that you remember the day you left Egypt every day of your life”.

The Exodus is also the reason for many other mitzvot in the Torah (sanctity of the firstborn, Shabbat, other festivals, laws governing treatment of slaves, etc.). Nevertheless, on the Seder night we amplify this commemoration in a unique way: by telling an unlimited story. “Even if we were all wise and knew the whole Torah, we have a mitzvah to tell the story of the Exodus. The more one tells, the more praiseworthy it is.”

The Exodus was one of the founding events of Israelite existence, an event which formed our national and spiritual consciousness. Thus, we must remember it and bequeath it to our children so that it is not forgotten. Nevertheless, rembembering the Exodus from Egypt must also serve as a paradigm for the importance of remembering other events which impacted our history and spiritual existence.

In many communities, it is customary to mention other ‘remembrances’ mentioned in the Torah every day. In Ashkenazic communities, they recite the ‘Six Remembrances’: The Exodus, the events at Mt. Sinai, the acts of Amalek and the duty to blot them out, our rebellion against God in the desert, the actions of Miriam and her punishment, and Shabbat. Sephardic communities add another four: The miracle of the manna, Bilaam’s plan, that God gives us the strength to produce, and Jerusalem. Some preface the recitation of these ten remembrances with a short prayer, invoking the obligation to recite these ten things every day.

My teacher, R’ Zvi Yehuda Kook, zt”l, constantly reminded us that memory is a characteristic trait of the Jewish people[3]:

“Memory is health; the nations are ‘forgetful of God’ (Tehillim 9). How does one forget? We do not forget the Master of the Universe, the Exodus, Shabbat, or Jerusalem; we don’t forget our anemesis, Amalek. Remembering is a healthy state, a normal state of being in touch with things. Memory is organic and vibrant. In contrast, forgetting is weakness, uprootedness, disconnectedness. Memory is coherence…”

All nations recognize the importance of remembering the history of the events which formed their national existence. They celebrate these events with holidays, ceremonies, and special commemorative events. Most of the time, however, it is a passive commemoration, preserved in the archives of collective memory like silent monuments. In contrast, Israel’s memory ought to be a living source which influences our lives in the here and now – as though the events are recurring and happening again. We experience and allow ourselves to be affected by these events, physically and spiritually[4]:

“And the basis for all of this is the order which the Most Sublime Wisdom arranged, that any enlightenment which shone or repair that was made at a particular time shines again and is renewed whenever that time passes again”. This also explains the law that “in every generation one must see himself as though he left Egypt.”

We draw spiritual nourishment from these past events which still live with us. The mitzvot which were established to memorialize them form the pattern of our lives. Thus, Israel’s memory is an active, creative memory which dictates the present and guides our future.

“Certainly, holiness and the light which will be revealed in the future, may it arrive speedily in our days, will also shine on that same day which has already been prepared for it”[5].

[1] Shemot 13:3

[2] Devarim 16:3

[3] Sichot HRZY”H, Vayakhel 381

[4] Ramcha”l Derech Hashem 4:7

[5] R’ Tzadok Ha-Kohen Machshevet Harutz ch. 8