Ta Shma R. Shai Held: Why Doesn't God Redeem Us Again?: Living With and Without Exodus
Mar 23, 2026
A lecture on Exodus memory and its double edge: how recalling past redemption can both sustain hope and deepen despair. Biblical texts and liturgy are examined for how they relive the past, blur tenses, and shape expectations of future rescue. The talk traces Psalms and prophetic visions that move between celebration, urgent plea, and raw lament. It ends by wrestling with living amid unresolved faith tensions.
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Psalm 114 Makes The Sea Part Of Now
- Psalm 114 and the Pesach liturgy purposely shift tenses to make the Exodus feel as if it's happening now.
- Held shows Hebrew present-tense phrasing (e.g., Why are you fleeing, O sea?) makes the community experience crossing in real time.
Seder Blurs Time To Make Exodus Personal
- The Pesach Seder intentionally collapses past, present, and future, instructing 'in every generation' the participant must feel they themselves left Egypt.
- Held highlights halach ma'anya's tense-bending as purposeful to relive Exodus now and expect it again.
Exodus Memory Cuts Both Ways
- Exodus memory generates both hope and despair because it invites the question: If God redeemed us then, why not now?
- Held analyzes Psalm 118 where celebration of deliverance immediately includes a plea for rescue, revealing wounded hope.