What Makes the Exodus True with Joshua Berman

Should it matter whether Yetziat Mitzrayim — the exodus of Israelites from Egypt, the defining story of the Passover seder that Jews around the world have retold for centuries — actually happened in the way the Torah describes? Twenty-five years ago, Rabbi David Wolpe posed this very question to his congregants — and it caused quite a stir. Now, a quarter century later, he sat down with Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman of Bar Ilan University, one of today’s leading biblical scholars, to talk about the deeper truths behind the Exodus. Together, they probe the historicity of the biblical account, the enduring meaning of the story, and the timeless legacy of a narrative that is, ultimately, the closest approximation to a Jewish language of Aspiration. In that spirit, we hope this wide-ranging SAPIR Conversation enriches your Pesach Seder. From the SAPIR family to yours, wishing you and your loved ones a Happy Passover and Chag Sameach! Read the latest issue of SAPIR on ASPIRATION: sapirjournal.org Read Dara Horn's essay, "How To Teach the Jewish Story": How to Teach the Jewish Story – SAPIR Journal Music from : ⁠

You can listen to What Makes the Exodus True with Joshua Berman online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

What Makes the Exodus True with Joshua Berman is an episode from SAPIR Conversations by SAPIR: Ideas for a Thriving Jewish Future.

This episode is 00:40:58 long.

This episode was published on Mar 26, 2026.

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