Shemot: The Theme of a Lifetime

Is there a theme to your life? A common thread or a recurring narrative that you can trace
throughout many (if not most) of your experiences thus far? You may think that this is just a rhetorical question, or a nifty way to start a blog post. But it really isn't. I'm genuinely curious, and if you have an answer, I invite you to write a comment on the blog, send me an e-mail, or even stop by my office. A theme can be something that has defined who you are or that has guided you along life's path. I believe that we begin to understand ourselves better when we identify, and begin to own, our individual themes.

For some of us, this kind of self-exploration and introspection may lead us to

the surprising realization that the theme isn't what we expected, or wanted, it to be. One person might have set out hoping to emphasize family, whenultimately life became bogged down with work. Another wanted to fill life with travel and exotic exploration, but in the end the theme was obligations, illness, or obstacles. But for some, life maybe began with shyness and exclusion, but triumphantly turned to performance, success, and accomplishment. We all have a theme and a story, even if it wasn't the one we set out to tell when life began.

This week, the Torah begins to tell its central narrative: The

Exodus from Egypt. Learning about our patriarchs back in Genesis was really just setting the stage for this, our most important collective memory. And through the story of the Exodus from slavery to freedom, we can find the main theme of the Bible, and perhaps the theme that has defined all of Jewish history. So what is that theme?

Some might say it's God's Greatness. God redeemed us from

Egypt, brought us to Mount Sinai, gave us the Ten Commandments, and took us to the Holy Land... But personally, I think the theme is more human than that. The cynics may say the theme is ritual obligation, mitzvot (commandments), and subservience to God... But I think Jewish history has shown that we can be more than just the sum of our laws. No, I think the theme may actually surprise some of you.

The Torah, and without a doubt all of Jewish history, I believe has centered around the theme: "Take care of the foreigner, because you were foreigners in Egypt." Our story of bondage and redemption teaches us to treat all people equally. Having suffered oppression, we can never turn a blind eye to the plight of others. God saving the Israelites also teaches us the power of religion and faith, and it should inspire us to observe the mitzvot, not so much out of obligation to God, but out of love, gratitude, and admiration. Everything that we as Jews believe in - faith, equality, Social Action, commandedness, peace, connection to the Land of Israel, keeping the Sabbath as a day of rest - all of these can be traced back to caring for the foreigner because we were foreigners in Egypt.

Even as we became exiles again after the destruction of two Temples, we continued to care for

others around us. Jewish history has often been a story of Diaspora, of expulsion and readmission, and everywhere we went we fought for workers' rights, immigrants' rights, and freedom for all. And this too comes from the teachings of the Torah.

We each have a theme in our own lives. But we also have a communal theme as Jews, as well as communal themes as Americans. And as we all strive to be the next link in Jewish history, carrying on the legacy of our ancestors to the next generation, we should ask ourselves how we are embodying this Jewish theme. How can we continue to promote it today and every day, so that the narrative of Jewish history will live on forever through all of us?

Shabbat Shalom!