“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Classical education placed, for very good reasons, much emphasis on the study of history. We study history not so much to know the past but to learn from it. We study and analyze it to derive appropriate lessons for the present and to pass on to future generations. This study is not always easy. Good history is objective and unbiased history and human being are biased and not always objective. Nonetheless, we must do the best we can. I need not tell you how the study of history is for many a neglected field. It somehow doesn’t quite resonate with current trends in our society. We are all the poorer for this[1].
Moshe Rabbeinu as he prepares to die, teaches the importance of the study of history.
“Zechor Yemot Olam, remember the days of the world, binu shenot dor vador, understand the generational epochs. Ask your father and he will relate to you, your elders and they will tell you.” (Devarim 32:7)
We must first and foremost study yemot olam, world history. We are part of the larger world and must contribute to its well-being and can better do so if we understand the past. Furthermore, Jewish history can be properly understood only in the context of world history. Jews, even if they want to, do not live in an island unaffected by world events. Even if we would be concerned only with our parochial interests – something that is not what the Torah wants – we must pray that governments are stable, that the rule of law reign supreme and that gap between the wealthy and less so not rise to dangerous levels. To paraphrase Thomas E. Wilson, CEO of General Motors, in his testimony to the US Senate in 1953, ‘what is good for society is good for Jews’.
While history repeats itself, or to use the words of King Solomon, "there is nothing new under the sun", the “re-run” is never quite like the original. Every generation has its unique features, its own challenges, and new opportunities. Thus Moshe tells us bino shenot dor vador, understand each generation, its strengths, weaknesses, needs and opportunities. We dare not blindly follow our “traditions”. Just because something worked in the past does not mean it will work in the present. And just because something failed in the past does not mean it cannot succeed in the future. We need to listen to the call of the moment, to the call of history. Had we not done so we would not have a State of Israel today.
It was Abraham who heard the call to go to the Land of Israel and be the founding father of a nation that would contribute so much to the world. The Sefat Emet suggest that G-d’s call went out to all; but only Avraham heard it.
Our Sages note that “the Holy One, Blessed be He, granted women binah yeteriah, a greater understanding than that of men” (Nidah 45b). We live in a time where the role of women has undergone radical change, literally a generation of binah. It is thus rather obvious that we should pay great attention to the insights Jewish women have into their role of Jewish life.
The second part of the verse, “Ask your father and he will relate to you, your elders and they will tell you” was understood by our Sages as Biblical permission for rabbinic enactments. This verse is used for example to permit the recital of a blessing when we light Chanukah candles (Shabbat 23a).
The entire corpus of rabbinic law is meant to ensure the Torah is properly applied in every generation, that it is a Torat Chaim, a living Torah. We must have an understanding of our historical role and ensure the Torah is still helping us accomplish such.
These words of Moshe are written as poetic song and we even refer to it as Shirat Haazinu. Failure to write these words in its poetic form – two columns with empty space between them – renders the Torah pasul, invalid for use.
Great poetry, and Torah is the greatest of poems, stands the test of time offering inspiration and meaning across the centuries[2]. The primary message of the poem is that which is between the lines, that which is not written, what we might call an Oral Tradition. Each generation passes down these traditions and each generation then applies that meaning to their own times, adding new layers of meaning to the great poem of Torah.
[1] It is startling how many people in the pursuit of wealth fail to study economic history and blissfully assume that “this time it is different” and they can ignore the law of economics no less of physics that what goes up must come down.
[2] We develop this theme of the Torah as a book of poetry here.
