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Exodus Then And Now
Continued from Page 2
On the second day of the
Festival in ancient times a
sheaf of the harvested
barley was brought as "an
offering made by fire, a
burnt offering." This was
presented on the Temple
altar amidst impressive
priestly rites and the sing-
ing of the Levites.
Pesach, the Festival of
Liberation as we know it
today, achieved its social
and spiritual significance
only after the Temple lay in
ruins and the Jewish peo-
ple was scattered far and
wide. The bringing of a
sacrifice in a central sanc-
tuary was no longer possi-
ble. Therefore, the celebra-
tion became a festival of
reunion for all the
members of the family.
Succeeding generations
keenly felt their
rootlessness and the bitter
persecution they were sub-
jected to everywhere. The
Bondage in Egypt then
became more than a na-
tional religious memory.
Every Jew who felt his tor-
ment and humiliation in
the Galuth, the Exile, con-
sidered himself in more
than a symbolic sense "a
slave in Egypt." The libera-
tion that had come to his
ancestory he looked upon
as a divine sign and pro-
mise of the eventual
"redemption" of the
Jewish people from suffer-
ing and its restoration in
the land of Israel.
Having alluded to continui-
ty in our historical ex-
periences, we derived lessons
that link legacies of the Ex-
odus from Egypt with the new
exodus, the "yetziat
Mizrayim" that becomes "yet-
ziat Russia." All of world
Jewry assumes the role of
Moses in fulfilling rescue
obligations.
We are being tested by the
new duties. "Yetziat
Mizrayim" signals a commit-
ment to be fulfilled. "Yetziat
Russia" assumes a place in
history parallel to "yetziat
Mizrayim." The lessons com-
piled become a Russian Hag-
gadah to be cherished as a
glorious ideal to be speedily
fulfilled. ❑
Yetziat Mizrayim
Continued from Page 2
second third of the tenth
century B.C.E. According
to this, the Exodus occur-
red no later than the se-
cond third of the 15th cen-
tury B.C.E., in approx-
imately 1450-1430 B.C.E.
This date is confirmed by
Judges 11:26, which states
that 300 years elapsed from
the time of the Israelite en-
try in Canaan to the time of
Jephthah, who judged
Israel in the second half of
the 12th century B.C.E. A
dating of the Exodus in the
15 centuy B.C.E. is prefer-
red by several scholars
who identify the Habiru of
the Tell el-Amarna Letters
with the Israelite tribes
who penetrated Canaan
and waged war against its
rulers. Most scholars,
however, agree that the
15th century B.C.E. is too
early for the Exodus and
does not conform with
other data about Israelite,
Canaanite, and Egyptian
history. In the second half
of the 15th century B.C.E.,
during the reign of Thut-
mosis III, Egypt was too
strong for the Israelites to
have been able to revolt
against her to conquer
Canaan. A historical basis
can be ascribed to I Kings
6:1 if the numbers are only
symbolic, marking 12
generations of 40 years
each (cf. Num. 32:13; Ps.
95:10). According to priest-
ly tradition, 12 generations
of high priests passed bet-
ween the Exodus and
Solomon (I Chron. 6:35-37).
A realistic length of time
for each generation is 25
years on the average. By
this calculation, the Ex-
odus occurred in the first
half of the 13th century, in
approximately 1270 B.C.E.
This date accords with the
inscription of Meneptah
("The Israel Stela"), which
speaks of Israel as being
either already in Canaan
or in the desert area bet-
ween Egypt and Canaan (a
less probable interpreta-
tion) in the second half of
the 13th century (see Kauf-
mann, Toledot). (2) Accor-
ding to Exodus 12:40-41,
430 years elapsed from the
descent of Jacob and his
sons to Egypt until the Ex-
odus. This chronology
clearly contradicts the
genealogical date accor-
ding to which Moses was
the son of Amram son of
Kehath son of Levi son of
Jacob.
This is our history lesson
for Passover. That's how we
learned about those who left
Egypt and the Passover that
ensued. That's how we
became knowledeable about
census and the taking of it
during the exodus from
Egypt.
This is how we not only
celebrate and pay respect to
our festivals but also learn
our history in the process of
family and communal rejoic-
ings.
❑