{"id":68812,"date":"2020-01-21T10:21:34","date_gmt":"2020-01-21T08:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=68812"},"modified":"2023-08-14T11:48:29","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T08:48:29","slug":"does-creating-a-new-life-for-ourselves-mean-forgetting-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/does-creating-a-new-life-for-ourselves-mean-forgetting-the-past\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Creating A New Life For Ourselves Mean Forgetting The Past?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[376,550,405],"acf":{"old_id":"68812","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":66417,"related_cahpter":"399","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"On the implications of memory and renewal\u00a0","content":"

Many times in the course of our lives we look back at past experiences and wish that things could have gone differently. Who has not wished at some point in our lives that we could somehow make a clean start, breaking with the past? Who has also not wished that we do the same to alleviate the suffering of a loved one?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Isaiah 65, God seems to have the same idea. In verse 17, God speaks to the Judeans living in Jerusalem after returning from exile in Babylon. God declares:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For behold! I am creating <\/span>
\n<\/span>A new heaven and a new earth; <\/span>
\n<\/span>The former things shall not be remembered, <\/span>
\n<\/span>They shall never come to mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

God goes on to talk about the joy such an act of new creation will cause. Like us, God too seems to want a clean start. Rather than focus on Judah\u2019s sin and the violent destruction of Jerusalem caused by it, God wants to make everything new again. Rather than its past characterized by pain, God is going to recreate Jerusalem as a joy and a delight \u2013 both God and Jerusalem will rejoice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rashi notes that there are two different interpretations of God\u2019s intentions here. God may be renewing the heavens and the earth (as if the world were being created anew) or God may actually be creating a literal new heavens and earth. The second option raises serious questions. Would the old inhabitants of Jerusalem be destroyed in favor of new inhabitants? How would the new inhabitants of Jerusalem know to rejoice in God\u2019s actions if they have no memory of the past?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If we use Rashi\u2019s first option (that God is renewing already existing creation), how should we understand that the former things that happened to Jerusalem shall not be remembered, or even come to mind? How can Jerusalem\u2019s inhabitants fully rejoice in God\u2019s actions on their behalf if they cannot acknowledge the reversal in their fortunes? How can we rejoice in the positive developments in our own lives if we cannot fully acknowledge our past?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here I think the passage does not mean that we should try to wipe our memories of our past. Those memories, often of past pains we wish we could forget, form an integral part of who we are. To break with them would be to break with our very selves. However, this passage does tell us that we do not always have to call those memories to mind. We do not have to let our past define who we are.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each moment brings with it the possibility of renewal. When we work to make wiser choices in our present, we participate in the creation of our new selves. We cannot change the past, but through our choices in the present we have the opportunity to build a happier future for ourselves and for those whom we love.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":68813,"id":68813,"title":"is65-past-memory","filename":"is65-past-memory.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/does-creating-a-new-life-for-ourselves-mean-forgetting-the-past\/is65-past-memory\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is65-past-memory","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":68812,"date":"2020-01-21 08:21:21","modified":"2023-07-16 08:43:41","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":752,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-300x118.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":118,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-768x301.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":301,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-1024x401.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":401,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":602,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":752,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-1200x470.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":470,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-1072x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1072,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Does Creating A New Life For Ourselves Mean Forgetting The Past?","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"On the implications of memory and renewal\u00a0","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":68813,"id":68813,"title":"is65-past-memory","filename":"is65-past-memory.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/does-creating-a-new-life-for-ourselves-mean-forgetting-the-past\/is65-past-memory\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is65-past-memory","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":68812,"date":"2020-01-21 08:21:21","modified":"2023-07-16 08:43:41","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":752,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-300x118.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":118,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-768x301.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":301,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-1024x401.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":401,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":602,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":752,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-1200x470.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":470,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-1072x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1072,"home_baner-height":420}},"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false,"send_noty":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68812"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68812"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117141,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68812\/revisions\/117141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}