We can't escape it. Archeologists, historians, and biblical scholars all seem to agree. There was no Exodus from Egypt. 

Secular Humanistic Judaism has known this since Rabbi Wine founded the movement. One of our strongest principles is to prefer claims that are supported by evidence. 

Yet it raises a pretty big question. If the Exodus didn't happen, why are we celebrating Pesach? By now, most experienced Humanistic Jews have rehearsed some very good answers to this question. But even with our very good answers we are still forced to contend with the problem of how to reconcile the tension between history and memory. 

In his groundbreaking book, Zakhor [Remember] : Jewish History and Jewish Memory, Prof. Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi wrote about how he struggled with this. As an historian, the tension between history and memory was his constant companion. He noted poignantly that, as much as Jews say they want a connection to their past, it is not the historian's path that they seek. It is the path of legend. Of memory. As a religious Jew, he sought that, too. 

If this is true, then Humanistic Jews are outside of the mainstream yet again. We usually side with the historians. 

But Passover seems to mock us for choosing sides. The seder emphasizes legend and memory. Even my own Haggadah tells the story of Moses and Pharaoh, using food and rituals to "re-live" that which was never lived to begin with. (I did write two pages offering some scholarly clues about what, if anything, really occurred. But I put them after dinner. After we've already gone from slavery to freedom.) 

For Passover I offer a compromise. It embraces both the historians and the mythologizers. For while we must accept what the historians proffer -- that there was no Exodus -- we can also accept the fact that the mythologizers were themselves a very real part of history. So while what our ancestors remembered about an Exodus may not be true, that they remembered it is an historical fact...because here we are about to do it, too! 

Our forebears remembered and re-told and "re-lived" the Exodus because its central message was incredibly compelling. It gave them hope in very dark times. In better times, it taught them to give hope to others. 

In this way the Exodus really did happen. Not in the wilderness, but every year around festive tables in Jewish homes, just as it will tonight. 

I wish you all a very happy and meaningful holiday!

Our next "BT Reads..." book was suggested by numerous conversations in my classes in which one question is frequently raised: "Why do so many people believe in God?"

In his bestselling book, How We Believe: Science, Skepticism and the Search for God,  Michael Shermer offers fresh and often startling insights into age-old questions, including how and why humans put their faith in a higher power, even in the face of scientific skepticism. Shermer explores the latest research and theories of psychiatrists, neuroscientists, epidemiologists, and philosophers, as well as the role of faith in our increasingly diverse modern world.

Whether believers or nonbelievers, we are all driven by the need to understand the universe and our place in it. How We Believe is a brilliant scientific tour of this ancient and mysterious desire.

I'll be discussing the book at Shabbat services on June 24. You can purchase a copy at this link!