Beyond Religion: The True Test of Redemption
BY RABBI ELIE MISCHEL
When I ask my son at dinner what he learned in school, he often answers with a groan: “We learned about the Yetziat Mitzrayim – again!” I understand his reaction. We read this story twice daily in our tefillot, hear speeches about it when we read the parshiyot of the Exodus, and will soon teach it to ourselves and our children again at the Seder. But this story is only repetitive if we’re reading it wrong. The Torah is eternal; it’s the most contemporary book ever written, providing us with the divine lens through which we understand the events and challenges of our own time. When we read about the Exodus, we’re gaining insight into the patterns of redemption that continue to unfold in our world today.
“And the Children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt” (Shemot 13:18). The Hebrew word for “armed” – chamushim – can also mean “one-fifth.” From this, Chazal teach that only one-fifth of the Israelites left Egypt, while four-fifths perished during the plague of darkness. This shocking teaching raises two critical questions: What made some worthy of redemption while others remained behind? And what are the implications of this teaching for our own times?
Chazal explain the criteria for redemption: “Israel possessed three good attributes in Egypt, by whose merit they were redeemed: they did not change their names, they did not change their language, and they separated themselves from licentiousness” (Bamidbar Rabbah 13:20).
Rabbi Yehuda Leon Ashkenazi explains that these three traits are not religious in nature, but rather national attributes that are the foundations of national identity. Hebrew names marked them as members of the Israelite nation. Their distinct language, Hebrew, bound them together as a people. And marriage within the faith ensured the continuation of their national story. Religious observance alone wasn’t enough to qualify for redemption; to be redeemed, they had to identify themselves as part of the nation of Israel (Sod Midrash HaToldot 8:304).
Our people are woven from three inseparable threads: the Torah, the nation of Israel, and the Land of Israel. In modern times, many Jews have come to identify with only one or two of these elements while neglecting the others. Some focus entirely on following the mitzvot, believing this alone makes them complete Jews. Others may feel connected to the Jewish people but remain distant from the Land of Israel. Still others may love the Land but see no need to follow the Torah’s teachings. But Jewish identity cannot be parceled out this way – it requires all three elements. A Jew who keeps all the mitzvot but feels no connection to the Jewish nation or the Land of Israel has an incomplete Jewish identity.
I witnessed this confusion firsthand during a car ride with a young Orthodox Jew from New York. Despite being religiously observant, something was missing. As we discussed Israeli politics, he casually remarked, “You guys have such a crazy system here!” Those two words – “you guys” – revealed a tragic disconnect. Here was a frum Jew who saw himself as an American who practiced Judaism. He failed to understand that being Jewish means being part of the Jewish nation – that Israel’s problems are his problems, and Israel’s destiny his destiny.
Since October 7th, we have witnessed a remarkable awakening of Jewish national identity. Take Ginnifer Goodwin – before October 7th, she was a secular Jewish actress with little connection to her Jewish roots or to Israel. But when she was asked to speak out about Israeli hostages, she had to make a choice: “I was asked to post about the hostages, and my husband and I talked about it – ‘What if I lose my career over this? What if I become some kind of pariah because I am standing up for us?’ And it came down to this: ‘We would be okay if we lost the house and had to pull the kids out from school.’ The truth is, there’s only one way this goes where I can sleep at night, and that’s the way where I not only embrace Judaism, but I fight for the continuation of our people.”
Across the world, Jews are rediscovering their connection to their people and their homeland. Though most are not keeping Shabbat or kosher, the key to redemption isn’t found solely in religious observance, but in making the conscious decision to bind one’s fate with the Jewish nation and claim its destiny as our own.
Rabbi Elie Mischel is the Editor of HaMizrachi magazine and the author of The War Against the Bible: Ishmael, Esau and Israel at the End Times (2024).