Deuteronomy<\/em> 26:5-10), recited upon presenting the first fruits of the harvest to a Priest, was a review of Jewish history: \u201cMy ancestor was a wandering Aramean\u2026.\u201d The prayer recounts Israelite origins, enslavement in Egypt, the Exodus, God\u2019s miracles, and God\u2019s gift of the Promised Land to the People Israel. <\/p>\nSimilarly, the first of the Ten Commandments is neither a prohibition (like \u201cThou shalt not murder\u201d), nor a prescriptive Command (like \u201cHonor thy father and mother\u201d). The Decalogue begins by restating the historical experience through which Israel\u2019s relationship with God was solidified: \u201cI am the Lord your God, who took you out of the Land of Egypt\u2026.\u201d (Exodus<\/em> 20:2).<\/p>\nOne of the Jewish People\u2019s greatest gifts to human civilization is the sanctity of historical literacy. It is through the unfolding of history that we perceive God\u2019s presence, and that our moral obligations (and the record of humanity\u2019s moral progress) are made clear. As Rabbi Jacob Marcus taught, \u201cThe historian\u2019s desk is an altar.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Jewish past is the key to the Jewish future. If we forget our origins\u2026 we are history.<\/p>\n
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