By: Bethany Friedlander
PJ Library Manager
A Jeopardy! champion once said that he learned all the various categories by sitting in the children’s section of libraries and reading every picture book about anything.
The power of storytelling.
But good storytelling is certainly something more than learning the facts. It is the “why” – the meaning and emotion behind the facts that draws the participant in.
Debra Messing, the speaker for our recent JEWISHcolorado Signature Event, told the story of how she grew up in a town where she was afraid to share that she was Jewish and, through other experiences, how she ultimately advocated for her character on Will & Grace to be proudly Jewish. A true story with the “why” details to help us understand why she is now doing the work she is doing.
This week’s parsha, Bo, is no exception to some intense storytelling. We witness three remaining plagues (locust, darkness, and death of the firstborn). We are given instructions on how to slaughter, place blood on our doorpost, and eat the roasted lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
We are told to tell our children about this paschal lamb rite by explaining that, “It is the passover sacrifice to G-d, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when smiting the Egyptians, but saved our houses,” (Ex. 12:25).
It is more than an explanation of facts related to the ABCs of Passover. It is a story about when we, as a people, stand up and take action. There is nothing passive about this last plague. We cannot stand idly by, thinking that the final plague will pass and we will be unharmed. We did not have to do anything to keep away the blood, frogs, locusts, darkness and more. This time, as we become a free nation, we cannot remain passive.
We are active characters in this chapter and our children and children’s children will need this passover story to understand that it is not just the facts of plagues one, two and three, but the action of what we did to make our freedom possible.
What is the story we want to tell today? What are the facts, the characters, and the morals we want to instill within the next generation? Whether we plan to be on Jeopardy! or not, facts are important. We also get to challenge and change the story narrative. We get to add our perspective, create opportunities for dialogue, and put color on each page to highlight where we have succeeded and where we need to try harder and stand taller.
What is our story and how do we want it to be told? Where are we observers and when do we become the action makers? Find your blank page and start writing.
Please email Bethany Friedlander at bfriedlander@jewishcolorado.org with questions or comments.