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Remembrance Is The Secret (5/5/04)
May 5, 2004
Some two hundred years ago, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov wrote: "Remembrance is the secret of redemption." The Baal Shem Tov, as he was known, understood well that, while the Jewish people have always possessed an incredible ability to remember their past, a redemptive future can only be created when people remember the past with reverence.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the Jewish people have ritualized many aspects of memory. Every year on the anniversary of the death of a loved one, we say a special memorial prayer and light a candle in their memory. Four times a year, we conduct special remembrance services for all of our loved ones and we also put up plaques in their memory.
Once, a non Jewish person asked me why, we as Jews, are insistent upon remembering the six million who perished during the Holocaust some 60 years ago. Why shouldn't we get over it, after all it has now been sixty years?
My answer to that person was that three thousand two hundred and eighty years ago, an evil and wicked Pharaoh tried to murder our children. Since that time on Passover, we tell the story not only of his attempt to annihilate our people, but also of God's wondrous hand in delivering us from slavery to freedom.
Recently, Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns our local ABC affiliate, decided not to show the Ted Koppel Show during which the names of more than 500 soldiers who were killed in combat were read as their pictures were shown. Sinclair Broadcasting felt that this was a politicization of the war in Iraq. It was wonderful that on the very next day, the Greensboro News & Record published the pictures of each one of the more than 100 men who perished during the past month of brutal fighting in Iraq. The publishing of the pictures could not have come at a better time, and certainly acted as a responsive antidote to Sinclair's unfortunate decision.
From my perspective as a rabbi, it is indeed sad that such remembrance should be made into a political issue. Regardless of what one thinks of the war, the sacrifice of those sent by our government to fight in the war needs to be respected and remembered at all times. In the case of remembering soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice, the act of remembrance should always trump politics.
These soldiers were men and women of varying ages. There were some who were Republicans and there were some who were Democrats. Some were married and some were not. All of them had parents who loved them dearly. All of them had friends and members of their extended family by whom they were loved and important. Each one of them represented an entire world in microcosm.
In God's eyes, each one of them was indeed holy. Their task, regardless of its political ramifications, the task of serving in the armed forces in the United States, defending this country which is the most unique bastion of freedom in human history, is indeed a holy one. Therefore, as their lives were holy, their sacrifice was holy as well.
Let us understand the pictures of war are not all that pretty. War is not a mere video game played by children. Yes, there are bombings and breathtaking victories, but there are also flag-draped coffins and families who lose loved ones. If we respect the dignity and integrity of the American people, then there is no reason why the media cannot periodically remind us of the sacrifice of these soldiers.
Memorial Day is not enough. As a matter of fact, on Memorial Day most people do not take time to remember. If I had my way, children would be in school on Memorial Day and the heroic stories of veterans who fought to preserve the freedom of this country would be told. Perhaps it should be that faith institutions at their weekend services begin to recall through some kind of ritual the sacrifice of our brave soldiers who died during the previous week.
The Baal Shem Tov's statement "Remembrance is the secret of redemption" is certainly applicable to us. No matter what our point of view, it is clear that we are quickly entering into a quagmire in Iraq. Whether or not we are Republicans or Democrats, it is apparent to me that only through remembering the sacrifice made by our soldiers at all times, will our leaders be able, with God's help, to make the necessary decisions to bring our soldiers home and to bring peace to that region of the world.
Rabbi Fred Guttman is spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, North Carolina.
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