Torah Portion:  Sh’mot;  Exodus 1:1-6:1

The story that begins in this week's Torah portion, Sh'mot--of our people's redemption from Egypt--is one of the most prevalent stories in Jewish life.  We mention it in almost every prayer, we read it for weeks every year in the Torah, and it is retold during Passover, the most observed Jewish holiday.  Clearly the story of the exodus, of our turning from slaves into free people, is a critical part of our people's identity.  Yet, the factual truth of this story is not so easy to prove.  A few years ago, Rabbi David Wolpe, one of my college teachers and currently the Senior Rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, CA, came under attack when he delivered a sermon saying there was no archeological evidence supporting the idea that hundreds of thousands of people marched from Egypt to what we now call the land of Israel.  This assertion--which archeologists, Biblical scholars, academics, some rabbis, and many others agree with--causes a strong reaction because it seems to undercut this most critical story of our communal identity.  If this story isn't REAL, then who are we really? What is our relationship with God?  With the land of Israel?  Do we still need to "care for the stranger," if we were NEVER "strangers in the land of Egypt"?  These are serious questions that require serious answers.

However, the most important part of Rabbi Wolpe's message really isn't whether or not the stories are REAL; the point is, he says, the story--of redemption, liberation, and hope--is TRUE.  He says, "Knowing the Exodus is not a literal historical accounting does not ultimately change our connection to each other or to God.  Faith should not rest on splitting seas....  It is not the specifics of history, but the theme of liberation and of God's providential care that is the theological center.  The Torah is not a book we turn to for historical accuracy, but rather for truth.  The story of the Exodus lives in us.  For although we cannot know exactly how God has saved our people, we have been saved.  Despite unimaginable odds and opposition, the Jewish people have seen nation after nation buried under the debris of history while our nation lives.  Here is where archeology, history, scholarship and scripture meet: Am Yisrael Chai, the nation of Israel remains alive." (To read all of Rabbi Wolpe's thoughts click here.

For more insight on this week's Torah portion, visit urj.org/torah.

Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Annie