"My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried to the Eternal, the God of our ancestors, and the Eternal heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. The Eternal freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents, bringing us to this place and giving us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, Eternal One, have given me."
These verses from Deuteronomy Chapter 26 represent what may be one of the earliest passages in the Torah. Once the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, and settled there, this recitation of the story of their family and people was prescribed for them to recite when they brought the first fruits of their harvest to their nearest place of worship. As soon as they had a crop for which to give thanks, they were called upon to be openly grateful.
Giving thanks to their Creator assured that they would not take their future harvests for granted. They knew that their success would be the result of their hard work and the possibility that they could turn God’s gifts in the natural world into produce that would nourish them.
What part of our story elicits in us the most gratitude? What have we created that has nourished us and our community? Each of us stands on the shoulders of members of previous generations of our families. The communities they left behind were often lively, close knit, and suffused with the sights, sounds, and tastes of Jewish tradition. They lived in countries that either accepted them or merely tolerated them. Sometimes there was discrimination that gave way to violent attacks. At other times, there was an uneasy but steady truce between government officials and the forces that viewed Jews as unwelcome. In certain countries, our families lived in times of great freedom, enjoying the respect and encouragement of the greater community.
Yet, for many reasons, many of our ancestors searched for other places to go. They looked to America, the Golden Land, as a place where they would be find greater freedom to live as Jews without the threat of prejudice and pogroms. They looked to the Holy Land, eventually Palestine, and later, the State of Israel, as a place to rediscover and fulfill their hopes of a Jewish life unfettered by forces that would begrudge them their lives, where they could work the land as did their ancestors, and build new cities and communities.
We still express gratitude for what we have been able to build in Jewish communities around the world: synagogues where close interpersonal ties can be engendered and maintained, cultural centers, museums, memorials to those who lost their lives due to genocide and war, Religious Schools, Day schools, and music and book publishing companies that keep us learning new Jewish thoughts and insights and singing new Jewish songs. Every year, we add something new to our ever-unfolding story that nourishes our souls and enhances our possibilities for a bright future.
We know, however, that there are Pharaohs still with us, people who see us as members of a centuries-old conspiracy to control the entire world. They accuse us of being eternal outsiders or insidious insiders. We know that neither description fits us. Our ancestors who left Egypt had a story to tell that established our essential identity: we were oppressed and we overcame our bondage with the help of God and godliness. And we will continue to preserve our liberty and security and do all that we can to help others escape oppression because that is the best way for us to do God’s work in this world.
So, in our time, may we be the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, fashioning our own signs and wonders that can lead us to a future where freedom, acceptance, respect, fairness and compassion will add new chapters to our story that will embody the gratitude we feel for lives well lived as companions and partners with God and with each other in preserving a world of goodness and peace.
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