iDentity

 

I had a wonderful experience this past week with the entire school as we enjoyed a phenomenal shabbaton in Orlando. Taking a break from our normal routine and traveling to a new environment really afforded us the opportunity to reflect a bit on our lives and to explore the ways in which we are carving out our identities as the next generation of Jewish leaders.

 

On Shabbat morning, I spoke to the entire student body about the importance of making active decisions that shape our identity. In Sefer Shmot, we are introduced to Moshe in a way that seems similar to the birth of other heroes in antiquity. A childhood filled with danger. Exposed to the elements in a way that would normally lead to his death. Instead, however, he is rescued and brought up by adoptive parents. Only later does he discover his true identity. This is similar to the stories of Oedipus and Cyrus (and Harry Potter and Superman!). Rabbi Jonathan Sacks notes a critical difference between Moshe's beginning and those of the mythical heroes. In all of the heroic abandoned child stories, the hero is a person of noble birth who is brought up by a family in humble circumstances and only later discovers that royal blood flows in his veins. In the case of Moshe, the opposite is true. He is brought up as a prince, but his true identity is that he belongs to a nation of slaves. In Judaism, explains Rabbi Sacks, greatness is a matter of moral courage, not fate.