Story, Prophecy, Challenge 

This will sound familiar (understatement). The idea in various forms is presented many times a year in the pages of Torah Tidbits. But if its message is about Torah and Eretz Yisrael - then why shouldn't it be a common feature of Torah Tidbits? 

The Torah is a story, or series of stories, in that it tells us of many events that occurred from Creation of the World, through the period of the Avot and Imahot, to the experience in and out of Egypt, to the Birth of the Nation, through the wandering in the Midbar, until we were poised at the threshold of Eretz Yisrael. 

The Torah is the prophecy of Moshe Rabeinu. The Divinely dictated text (orally explained and detailed) of G-d's Revelation to Bnei Yisrael through Moshe Rabeinu containing the Mitzvot and much more. 

There are parts of the Torah that some people mistakenly see as only story. Once upon a time, a long time ago (3315 years), G-d sent Moshe into Egypt to take the people out. He told Moshe to tell the people that "I am G-d and I will take you out from under Egyptian oppression, save you from slavery, and redeem you from the land of Egypt. I will then take you to Me as a Nation, be your G-d, and you will 

know that I took you out of Egypt. Then I will bring you to the Land that I swore to give to your forefathers, and I will give it to you as a Heritage, I am G-d." 

Although the three p'sukim just presented in English (Sh'mot 6:6-8) contain the famous Four Terms of Redemption, they actually consist of 8 terms covering the sequence of Y'tzi'at Mitzrayim (the Exodus), Matan Torah (the Sinai experience), and coming into Eretz Yisrael. 

Story-wise, we were taken out of Egypt, we received the Torah, and we entered the Land. But as prophecy, there is an unfinished - or ongoing - nature to these promises of G-d's. 

The Hagada tells us that, "In every generation, a person is obligated to see himself as if he left Egypt." This alone makes the first part of the sequence more than a story. We have to RELIVE the Exodus. And we have to believe that the promise of Redemption from Exile and difficulties is recurring. And that includes now. 

To be G-d's Nation and for Him to be our G-d is certainly not just history. It is the challenge for each of us as individuals and as part of Klal Yisrael on an ongoing, everyday basis. It isn't a done deal and it does require our effort. 

As does the third part of the process. G-d says He will bring us here and give us the Land. This too is not just story, but something attainable by us through our efforts and with G-d's help. We have to come. We have to make this Land ours. And G-d ours. Let's do it.