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Rabbi Paul Drazen
At each holiday and Sabbath, Jews recite a sanctification, saying that the day is "in remembrance of the exodus from Egypt." In 1946, David Ben-Gurion made an observation about history. He noted that "the Mayflower sailed for America, but who remembers the sailing date, the number of passengers or the food served?" In contrast, nearly every Jew knows that 600,000 people left Egypt on the 15th day of Nisan and ate matzah. Groups survive well when they remember and revere their history. Those who remember their past are best prepared to carry their responsibilities into the present and the future.
Paul Drazen is rabbi of Temple Adath Yeshurun in Syracuse. He has had pulpits in Minneapolis and Omaha and served in the denominational offices of Conservative Judaism.