In the late 19th century, Hermann Ebbinghaus conducted a pioneering experiment on himself, tracking how well he could memorize nonsense syllables. Based on the results, Ebbinghaus developed what he referred to as the forgetting curve, which is the rate at which people forget information over time when they make no attempt to retain it.
The sharpest decline in memory occurs within the first 20 minutes and continues to decline rapidly within the first hour.
In his book The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers, Professor Daniel Schacter labels the forgetting that occurs with the passage of time as transience, the first of his seven sins of memory that make us more likely to forget things. One way to overcome transience is spaced learning. If one relearns the material after some time has elapsed, the rate of forgetting decreases.
The themes of remembering and forgetting recur throughout Parshat Ki Teitzei, perhaps most famously when we are commanded, “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt… Do not forget!” (Devarim 25:17-19).
What are the parameters and guidelines for fulfilling this commandment? How should we remember and how do we ensure not to forget?
In his explanation of this mitzvah, the Rambam writes that it is a “positive commandment to constantly remember their evil deeds” (Hilchot Melachim 5:5). Notwithstanding the Rambam’s insertion of “constantly,” Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 603) notes that there is no indication in the Torah or Talmud as to how often one has to perform this commandment. Therefore, he suggests fulfilling the mitzvah every one to three years.
The Chatam Sofer argues that the mitzvah must be fulfilled once a year because the Talmud indicates that memories generally last for 12 months (see Berachot 58a).
While the frequently with which we have to actively remember Amalek’s attack is debated, it’s clear that if not for spaced re-learning, transience will cause us to forget it.
The second of Professor Schacter’s “sins of memory” is absentmindedness, or a lapse in attention that results in memory failure. We generally look at absentmindedness as something negative, as a “sin” that gets in the way of our goals. It is religiously and morally valuable to remember to perform worthy tasks, such as mitzvot, and to be mindful to avoid negative actions.
Yet, there is another commandment in Parshat Ki Teitzei that redeems the sparks of absentmindedness, which is known as the mitzvah of shichecha. The verse states that “[w]hen you reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf in the field, do not turn back to get it; it shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow – in order that Hashem, your G-d, may bless you in all your undertakings” (Devarim 24:19).
Overcoming failures of memory is essential for the religious personality, but when it comes to bypassing the meticulousness related to one’s own material goods for the sake of benefiting others, absentmindedness and forgetfulness are valued.
May we merit learning how to properly use both remembering and forgetting in the service of G-d and others.
