A Message From Rabbi Weitzman: 8.28.26

Shabbat Shalom,

Elie Wiesel once wrote, "God created humans because God loves stories." Each of our lives is a story, one with characters, plot twists, and lessons about how to live. Telling that story, even just to ourselves, is how we remember who we are.

Remembering who we are is very much the theme of this week's Torah portion, Ki Tavo. We are on the brink of entering the Promised Land, and before the Israelites cross the Jordan, Moses reviews the whole of their story:

"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. God brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey." (Deuteronomy 26:5-9)

This is who we are. A story of wandering and settling, of oppression and redemption, of exile and return. The Israelites already knew this story; it was their history. Moses retells it anyway, because knowing where you came from is how you understand where you're going.

Rabbi Jacqueline Mates-Muchin reminds us that during these days we stand at a similar threshold. We are moving through Elul, the month that leads us toward Rosh Hashanah, traditionally a season for cheshbon hanefesh, an accounting of the soul. One of the most useful tools we have for accounting is our own story: not just recalling what happened to us, but asking what it adds up to. What ideals have guided us? What have our joys and our hardships taught us, or failed to teach us? What do we want to carry forward into the new year, and what are we ready to leave behind?

That kind of reflection is easier with company. This week, I'd invite you to try it yourself: take a few minutes to write down one memory in some detail, and share it with someone else, a partner, a friend, a study group. Ask them what the telling says about you. What does it reveal about what matters to you?

Just as the Israelites needed their story retold to enter the Promised Land ready, we need our own stories to enter the new year ready: ready for repentance, for healing, for change. May we know where we're going because we remember where we've been.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Weitzman