Home

Last week, Moses continued recounting the journey through the desert to the gathered Israelites. He highlights the importance not only of following God's laws, but also remembering the stories of each generation. As Moses tells the people their story, he includes details, such as the stops along the way, the moments of joy and distress, the moments of belief and doubt. He highlights that all these moments are now shared history. This shared history means that each Israelite can, and should pass down to their children their own recollections as well as the official story of our faith.

While Moses shares details, we still know that the specifics will fade. The message, though, will carry on.

Rabbi Nancy Weiner teaches a powerful lesson about what a story can do for us:

"The stories and their message will endure only if they produce behaviors that demonstrate the veracity of the message-only if those who believe the message see it as the basis for their lives. Anyone can be kind to a stranger. But it's far more powerful to have a story that reminds us that we were strangers, and then slaves, in Egypt, a story that demonstrates that when we are kind to strangers it's because we remember who we are and where we've been. Only then will we understand 'kindness to strangers' as a fundamental part of our identity...Yes, the story matters, but only inasmuch as it informs their daily lives, so that they and their children can see that God's Presence, as the official story teaches, is real."