Rabbi Irwin Tanenbaum used to preach that while it is great to have a good memory, it is even better to have a good forgettery. Being able to shake off the pain and humiliations we encounter in everyday life is helpful. While we often curse ourselves for not remembering facts or figures, sometimes it can in fact be a blessing.
This week’s Torah portion, Shemot, shows us what happens when it is not an individual that forgets, but an entire society. The Torah tells us in Exodus 1:8: “a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.” Now that several generations have passed, the contributions that Joseph had made to greater Egyptian society, helping them navigate through an intensive famine, have all but been forgotten. This bout of amnesia leads to the enslavement and oppression of our people and eventually the demise of Egypt. As Winston Churchill once taught, “a nation that forgets its past has no future.”
That said, collective amnesia can be a good thing as well. The ability to navigate past difficulties like pandemics, recessions, wars and terror is important to the greater good of humanity. The trick is knowing what things are best forgotten and what things are essential to remember. Historians, something ancient Israel put a high priority on, are really what distinguish between a society that can survive, and one that is destined to fail. The Torah itself is a document designed to ensure our collective memory is intact, giving our forgettery a chance to kick in.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex