Should We Forget the Pain of Our Past?

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A child once asked, “If our past was so painful, why don’t we just forget it?”

And the answer is—we remember not to stay in the pain, but to see what came from it. That's where we find truth.

Because the very story that once felt heavy…

is the one that reminds us today of our strength, our survival, and our Godly purpose.

So in Judaism, there’s no such thing as erasing or forgetting our past history as a Jewish nation. Instead, we internalize it and carry it with us.

Not only does this unite us with a shared history, but in our darkest, lowest moments…or even in our imperfections and our human fallibility…our past reminds us that G-d still wants us—that we will always matter to Him. Because we are here now, through everything that was endured--we are still alive with a purpose and mission.

And, we are never alone.

Because however hopeless a situation may feel—G-d sees the bigger picture. He sees the role we are meant to play in a story that is still unfolding…even now.

He sees our unbelievable potential and all the remarkable parts of us that we stifle when we spend too much of our time and energy immersed in negativity.

So we invite the past into our present—to keep us humble, but also to empower us. Because when we allow even a small opening in our minds for the unexpected…for a bigger picture that we don’t yet see, anything can happen. Anything.

The future unknown is the other side of the story of the life we are living. And we must believe it has great meaning and purpose.

Because even the moments that felt like endings were slowly becoming the beginning of something much greater than we ever imagined.