大象传媒

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Alex Chapper, Community Rabbi
Borehamwood & Elstree Synagogue

Good Morning

It鈥檚 been long known that most people鈥檚 earliest memories only go back to about age 3 and it was Freud who coined the term 鈥渃hildhood amnesia鈥� to describe this loss of memory from the infant years.

And yet, Jewish tradition calls on us to remember the Revelation at Sinai - an event that took place over 3000 years ago.

This imperative is recorded in Deuteronomy: 鈥淏e careful and guard yourself so that you do not forget the things that your eyes have seen, so that they will not leave your hearts all the days of your life.鈥�

But how can anyone be expected to remember something that took place so long ago and at which they weren鈥檛 even present?

The key to this is to be found in the very next verse that says: 鈥淭each them to your children and your children鈥檚 children.鈥�

The best way to ensure something isn鈥檛 forgotten is to impart our knowledge of it to young, fresh minds.

This isn鈥檛 about information, today, for facts everyone relies on their favourite search engine, but this is about something much more important, it鈥檚 about identity - who we are, our heritage - the ideals and values that we live our life by.

If they鈥檙e truly important to us then we must teach them to our children so the next generation has a clear understanding of their origins.

Societies change, fashions change but values are eternal.

So let鈥檚 pray that we remember what our parents taught us.

Let鈥檚 remember to hold on to those memories.

And let鈥檚 teach those ideals and values to our children.

Show less