Links in an unbroken chain

I have the privilege of occasionally speaking at churches. Recently, I was invited to address a Christian adult education group on the topic: “Things Jews wish their Christian neighbors knew about them.” We focused on what it means to be part of a people and how that differs from being part of a religion. This idea of peoplehood, of belonging to B’nai Yisrael, the Children of Israel—or, as my parents used to say, being a “member of the tribe”—is an essential part of the Jewish experience. 

For most of us, to be a Jew is tied not only to belief or practice, but to a deep sense of being a part of a people, even as we remain, in some ways, apart from others. 

Our connection to the Jewish people is visceral. At times it brings comfort, at others, pain. It can be a source of pride, and sometimes of embarrassment. It brings joy, and it can bring fear. But it is always present. 

On Passover, we do not simply recall that our ancestors were slaves in Egypt; we insist that we were slaves, and that we were redeemed by G-d. We imagine ourselves as having been there, together. 

Soon, on Shavuot, we will affirm that all of us stood at Sinai and received the Torah. In Deuteronomy (29:14), as the moment at Sinai is retold, we read: “I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, but both with those who are standing here with us this day before Adonai our G-d and with those who are not with us here this day.”  

Traditionally, we understand this to mean that every Jew across time and place—those born into Judaism and those who entered through the waters of the mikvah— was present at Sinai. We are a people not only through descent from Jacob, but also through our shared spiritual encounter with revelation. Just as we were slaves in Egypt, we were present at the giving of Torah. 

Mishnah Pirkei Avot, part of one of Judaism’s foundational texts, begins: “Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly.” Whether read as history or metaphor, this passage binds every generation of the Jewish people into the shalshelet ha-kabbalah, the “chain of tradition.” Torah is not only something that was given once; it is something continually received and transmitted. Each generation stands at Sinai, and each generation carries the tradition forward. 

In many synagogues, we reenact this moment on the bima (pulpit), when b’nai mitzvah students are handed the Torah by their parents and grandparents. To be part of the Jewish people is to understand oneself being part of the unbroken line of study, learning, and religious life that directly connects us back to Moses and Sinai.  

On Shavuot, which begins on the evening of May 21, we gather to read Torah, to retell the story of revelation, and to engage in study that often continues late into the night. In doing so, we renew a conversation that has endured for millennia. We connect not only to a set of beliefs or practices, but to a people—past, present, and future—bound together by memory, covenant, and the ongoing revelation of Torah. 

Rabbi Max Weiss serves Oak Park Temple. He is active as a volunteer with Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute, The Leaders Network of Chicago, RAC-Il, and in his local community.