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Developing Collective Identity – Rosh haShana

Rav Hanan Schlesinger

One of the central themes of the Book of Deuteronomy, whose concluding sections we
read during this High Holiday season, is the idea of collective identity. This means that
each Jew is to see himself not merely as an individual, but rather that one’s sense of self
and one’s bank of experience must be expanded to include all the generations of Jews and
all of Jewish history. It is not only that we are all links in an on-going chain, but even
more than that: All of us ought to live the whole chain within our consciousness. My
personal identity is not that of a middle aged man, but rather that of a 3000 year old
nation. That’s who I am! The womb of Egypt nurtured me; the ten plagues were the
pangs of labor that brought me into this world. The exodus from Egypt was my birth, and
fifty days later we all stood at Sinai together. I remember those events; they are etched in
my consciousness, as are all the other seminal points in our history. That history is my
autobiography.
Engendering and strengthening this sense of identity is probably one of the central
challenges of Jewish life today. We live in a culture that teaches a sense of self that is
diametrically opposed to the one that the Torah wants of us. All around us the emphasis
is on the individual. We are taught to define ourselves as autonomous, self sufficient
islands, trees that are part of no forest. And to the degree that society allows us a sense of
nationhood, it is very often the allegiance to America that fills this niche. How do we
develop the sense of oneness with the people-hood of Am Yisrael that is so central to
authentic Jewish life and continuity?
Experiential immersion in the foundational narratives of our people is my answer. You
have be where it happened and you must re-experience the events themselves. Not just to
read it in a book, and not just to see where it happened, but to do both at the same time,

Schultz Rosenberg Campus, 12324 Merit Drive, Dallas TX, 75251

Phone: 214-295-3525 Fax: 214-295-3526
Email: kollelofdallas@sbcglobal.net Web site: www.kollelofdallas.org

The Community Kollel of Dallas is an affiliate of the Center for the Jewish Future of
Yeshiva University
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thereby recreating the past as a living reality. And therefore this coming year the
community Kollel will not only be about classes, but also about this type of experiential
education. This spring we are going to Israel together for a journey like no other! We
invite you to join us for an unmediated meeting with the Land of Israel of the Bible, of
the Mishna, and of the Holy Temple, and as well as with today’s pioneers who are
fulfilling the visions of our ancient prophets. During this ten day educational and
religious experience, we will bond with the Land of Israel and the meaning of life within
her borders throughout the generations.
In the early morning hours of Pesach eve, trembling with anticipation and excitement, we
will purify ourselves in the same mikvas that our forefathers immersed themselves, and
then we shall make the pilgrimage to the Temple Mount, where we will stand where our
ancestors did as they prepared to offer the Paschal Lamb and we will witness in our
mind’s eye the pomp, circumstance, and exultation surrounding the sacrifice of over two
million paschal lambs. In preparation for the seder and during the Pesach holiday itself,
some the greatest teachers of today’s religious Zionism will stand before us to present
their insights. During the Intermediate days of Pesach when we traverse the paths that
Abraham the Patriarch walked and where King David grazed his sheep, the Bible will be
our guide and the Mishna our source of understanding. The passionate tears of the
beloved wife of Yaa’cov Avinu may well bring forth our own tears when we visit the
Tomb of Rachel. King Solomon’s underground waterways will arouse our awe as we
make our way through their still- flowing frigid waters, and Ma’arat haMachpala – the
burial place of Avraham and Sara, Yitzhak and Rivka, Ya’acov and Leah – will
reverberate with our own morning prayers. We will contemplate the fate of Bar Kochba’s
army as we navigate the subterranean hideaways excavated by his brave soldiers.
Not only will ancient Jewish history come alive for us as never before. We will be as well
in the thick of modern Jewish history, and for the full ten days will be living in one of the

Schultz Rosenberg Campus, 12324 Merit Drive, Dallas TX, 75251

Phone: 214-295-3525 Fax: 214-295-3526
Email: kollelofdallas@sbcglobal.net Web site: www.kollelofdallas.org

The Community Kollel of Dallas is an affiliate of the Center for the Jewish Future of
Yeshiva University
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centers of religious Jewish settlement since the 1920s. We will re-experience the trials
and tribulations of the pioneers who re- established Jewish settlement in the Land after an
absence of almost 2000 years. Their tenacious efforts to make the hills blossom and at the
same time to defend themselves against vicious Arab mobs will have us feeling as if we
were there. Old-timers as well as recent American olim will recount for us their
experiences.

Schultz Rosenberg Campus, 12324 Merit Drive, Dallas TX, 75251

Phone: 214-295-3525 Fax: 214-295-3526
Email: kollelofdallas@sbcglobal.net Web site: www.kollelofdallas.org

The Community Kollel of Dallas is an affiliate of the Center for the Jewish Future of
Yeshiva University