Shabbat Va'era -
We Are an Exodus People

Dear Members and Friends,

An increasing number of people today declare that they are not religious. From my experience, the same people often say they are happy to be defined as spiritual; they are seeking meaning or community. What happened with the notion and institution of organised religion? Many blame secular culture or changing values for this trend. However, Rabbi Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel, in his 1955 book God in Search of Man, offered a different perspective:

‘It is customary to blame secular science and anti-religious philosophy for the eclipse of religion in modern society. It would be more honest to blame religion for its defeats. Religion declined not because it was refuted but because it became irrelevant, dull, oppressive, and insipid … when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendour of the past; when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion—its message becomes meaningless.’ (Heschel, Abraham Joshua. God in Search of Man (p. 3). Farrar, Straus and Giroux.)

What is Rabbi Heschel saying to us, the synagogue people? It is not enough to ask why people do not find religion meaningful. Instead, religion should transform itself and become a place where people feel they make a real difference, and places of worship should become places where people find meaning and a sense of purpose.

Many people today reduce religion to prayer and theology. However, if you are only learning to be Jewish in theory without making changes in life, it is like learning to go to a gym in theory and never actually exercising. The book of Exodus is a prime example of a call to action that must give us a sense of purpose and direction. 

Rabbi Sharon Brous claims that the Jewish people are largely shaped by the book of Exodus. She writes: 

‘It is the God of Exodus who teaches humankind to respond to injustice with hope, courage and determination. And it is the story of the Exodus that offers the most potent and undeniable counter-testimony to the reality of our world. Just when the darkness seems to eclipse any light, just when we’re spent, ready to succumb to the triumph of evil, we’re called to remember the great dream that was born with the writing of this epic story. Because the Jewish people ultimately is not a Genesis people. We are an Exodus people.’ (read the full article here)

What does it mean to be an Exodus people? It is to stand with the oppressed, demand justice, and support the vulnerable. This ethos is the key to understanding our identity.

The Exodus story is central to our tradition. We were oppressed, we were liberated, and therefore we are commanded to stand with those still trapped by poverty, racism, hatred, or loneliness. That is why we gather, why we pray and learn - to return to the world with a softer heart and a stronger sense of purpose. 

The task of liberal-minded progressive Jews in this increasingly unkind world is to make sure that Judaism remains a living fountain. If religion becomes dull and insipid, it is not because modernity has defeated it, but because we have forgotten what it is for. We are an Exodus people.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Igor