Forming a Nation
Exodus 13:8, Psalm 78:5
The exodus from Egypt was a foundational event in the history of our nation and the retelling of the story is an important aspect of preserving our heritage as Jews. On the first night of Passover, Jewish people around the world join together in a family setting and retell the story of the exodus. But the exodus is more than just a story from the past, the exodus is a living implement in the hand of God that serves to create a nation for Himself year after year.
The wording that the Torah uses to teach us to retell the story to our children does not directly indicate that the story ought to be told on the first night of Passover. By tying the retelling of the story to the special observances of Passover (Exodus 13:8) we are given to understand that the…
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Look at all these historical claims! And yet none are true. Does this matter?
tildeb
You know that I believe that the exodus actually did happen – but to answer your question (does it matter?) – Not as much as you might think. A nation that understands its past this way simply acts differently as the historical record shows.
I know you believe… and I know that you believe based only on your desire for this historical narrative to be true and believe in spite of no compelling evidence that is a valid narrative.
I also agree that its historical validity is not important (and I wish you would tell that to Israelis who believe some god grants them land rights). But I submit that there are much better ways to build a people, one that involves principles and philosophies that uplift membership to reflect the best of humanity without degrading others and not one that must be supported by ignorance and deceit. Although the final product may seem to be the same – creating a people – the duration of the ideal dealing with real world problems is bound to be more productive when it has the benefit of respecting what’s true.
tildeb Growing up in the cradle of tis historical narrative gives me the advantage of not needing to judge the motives of those who disagree with me. The philosophy that is built on this narrative (exodus) does not need to degrade others (although its members sometimes do – as do the members of all philosophical streams of thought), it is not built on ignorance and deceit – it is built on an appreciation of one type of evidence over others. And its historical track record in the sense of building people and elevating them is unparalleled – and if I would have to theorize I would say that this is because it is built on what seems to be true to the followers without violating their sense of honesty 1000 Verses – a project of Judaism Resources wrote: >
Just a quick clarification: a lack of evidence is not a different kind of evidence and so it cannot by definition it be the kind of evidence better appreciated.
tildeb testimony is a type of evidence 1000 Verses – a project of Judaism Resources wrote: >