Finding America in Exodus: A Blueprint for “A More Perfect Union” in the 21st Century
Ebook
God's charge to the Jewish people at Sinai was to be "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Nowhere is freedom found in this exhortation, even though the Jews had been freed from slavery only seven weeks prior. That is because the Jews were not liberated merely to become a free people. God wanted them and expected them to evolve into a nation committed to creating a law-abiding society. From this perspective, freedom is just a necessary precondition to achieving this. America's founders understood this and wove this idea into the basic fabric of the democracy they were creating. What has for centuries set America apart from other nations is its synergistic linking between freedom and the law, which, of course, is something that goes to the heart of the Exodus story. The first of the national goals enumerated in the preamble to the US Constitution is "to form a more perfect Union," followed by "to establish Justice." We truly believe that America is and always has been a great country. Yet greatness does not equate to perfection, and America's history is marked by episodes, slavery foremost among them, that were far from the founder's stated goals for their emerging nation. Falling short of the mark, as the American and Jewish people have done more times than either would like to remember, does not negate their aspirational national goals. It just means that we must be prepared to honestly assess morally challenging situations when they arise and then recommit ourselves to our goals, be it becoming "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" or creating "a more perfect Union." Never losing sight of this is the true enduring lesson of Exodus.
“Finding Exodus in America by Broyde and Travis succeeds in bringing Exodus alive for an American audience and gives a new, relevant version of liberty for the twenty-first century. Any American concerned about the country’s future will enjoy and benefit.”
—Gidon Rothstein, author of Murderer in the Mikdash
“Rabbis Broyde and Travis put forward the idea that the exodus influenced the founders of the American Republic and their belief that freedom can only be preserved by a strong legal system. In showing us how the biblical story delivers that message, they show that the exodus is not simply a story of Jewish liberation but a guide for the world in how to create a society that both values and can sustain individual freedom.”
—Ira Bedzow, Emory University
“Rabbis Broyde and Travis have put forth an important commentary on the power and perils of freedom, the liberation found in law, and the true meaning of both leadership and servitude. Their work is full of questions worth pondering, ideas worth considering, and perspectives worth implementing as we continue our march as brothers and sisters towards the promised land.”
—Miles Terry, chairman, National Pastors Association
- Title: Finding America in Exodus: A Blueprint for “A More Perfect Union” in the 21st Century
- Authors: Michael J. Broyde, Reuven Travis
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Logos Release Date: 2022
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666749014, 9781666748994, 1666748994, 9781666749007, 1666749001, 166674901X
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666749014
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-02-12T10:57:40Z
Michael J. Broyde is a law professor at Emory University in Atlanta who has served in a variety of rabbinic positions throughout the United States. During the 2018 academic year, he was a senior Fulbright scholar at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and in 2019, he was a visiting professor of Jewish law at Stanford Law School.
Reuven Travis taught a wide range of classes over his twenty-year career as an educator, including Jewish law, Bible, and Jewish history. He holds a master’s degree in teaching from Mercer University and a master’s in Judaic studies from Spertus College. He has published three scholarly works on the book of Job, the book of Numbers, and the book of Genesis, respectively.