The American Jewish community, following President Trump’s election victory, is perhaps more divided than it has been in several decades. According to the Manhattan Institute Poll, 31 per cent of Jewish voters supported Trump, marking the highest level of Jewish support for a Republican candidate since the Reagan era. Reasons cited for Trump’s growth in Jewish support were most notably his Israel policies, which are such a major fault line within American Jewry.

Whatever lies in store over the next four years, the 47th presidential inauguration that takes place next week will draw on several themes that ultimately derive from the Book of Exodus (which coincidentally we began reading on Shabbat), reflecting the shared cultural and spiritual heritage that has influenced American civic traditions.

One of the pivotal moments of Exodus occurs when Moses is called on by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. It highlights the responsibility of leadership and the covenant between leader and people.

The inauguration also signifies the start of a leader’s covenant with the nation, where they take on the duty of guiding and serving the people. The responsibility of leadership to protect the marginalised is also communicated — a value deeply rooted in the Exodus too.

How the notion of covenant became transcribed on to the American story was of course due to the Pilgrim Fathers, who as Puritans defined themselves in the terms of the Hebrew Bible, as the new Israelites, entering the new promised land.

On board the Mayflower itself in 1620, the first settlers agreed to a compact which was an important precursor to the US constitution that declared: "We solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic.”

The inauguration will also make reference to the phrase ‘’We the People’’, signifying a collective agreement to form a new government and making emphasis on unity and shared responsibility. This too has a parallel in the Exodus with the people coming together at Sinai, bound by mutual responsibility.

Reference to central biblical themes from the Exodus continued to be drawn on by the founding fathers who framed the American Revolution, for example, as a modern exodus from tyranny to liberation. We can certainly expect key allusions to this historical record in the forthcoming ceremony too.

The pinnacle of the inauguration is the oath of office which serves as a solemn commitment to uphold the Constitution. This also is reminiscent of the biblical tradition of covenantal vows. These appear throughout the books of the Bible, none more important than the Sinai Covenant with the giving of the Ten Commandments, its mutual obligations, moral and legal framework and formal ceremony too.

All US presidents have placed their hand on the Bible during the oath itself, some even with the book open on a particular page of their choosing, all this symbolising a connection to a higher moral authority and acknowledging the biblical roots of justice.

Inaugurations, through readings, music and speeches, will invariably emphasise themes of renewal, hope, the promise of liberty and the ideal of justice. These elements, which we can all but guarantee for the forthcoming presidential inauguration, reflect therefore the Exodus narrative of moving from slavery to freedom and the forging of a new identity as a people bound by shared values and divine law.

The final echo that we will encounter between the inauguration and Exodus is in the peaceful handover of power from one administration to the next which is accompanied with the concept of trust in a higher purpose guiding the nation’s destiny.

Jefferson in his second inaugural address of 1805, referencing the Exodus directly, refers to ‘’the favour of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries and comforts of life’’. Mention of God’s providential power we can also definitely expect to feature prominently in this inauguration.

What we will encounter as President Trump takes up office is a sort of covenant renewal ceremony. As all previous presidents have done, he too will draw on uniquely covenantal language as he takes on the mantle of leadership, adopting the message enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, codified by Jefferson but imbued with the very spirit of the Exodus when it proclaims: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Reflecting then on the echoes between the inauguration and the Exodus shows the enduring importance of our liberation story in the modern world. It is a continued template from which we can all draw for establishing and maintaining freedom. It is also a narrative that persists in inspiring hope and must surely be an example for other nations today who are on their own long journey to freedom.

The frequent occurrence of the centrality of collective responsibility, which will be peppered throughout the inauguration, is an antidote to the rampant individualism that we must seek to unwind in our time.

For American Jewry it will also provide at least a brief moment for all, regardless of where they sit on the political spectrum, to temporarily put differences aside and honour the eternal truths of the Exodus narrative.
 

Simon Eder hosts the weekly Jewish Quest podcast for the Louis Jacobs Foundation