A Special Shavuot and Memorial Day Message

 Dear Friends,


As we celebrate Shavuot, Shabbat, and commemorate Memorial Day weekend, 
I hope that we all find meaningful ways to connect to Shavuot that marks the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, Yizkor (remembering our loved ones), and when we read the scroll of Ruth that emphasizes the importance of kindness.  

One of the tributes I find to be most meaningful  on Memorial Day weekend is the following by Archibald MacLeish:


THE YOUNG DEAD SOLDIERS DO NOT SPEAK

Nevertheless they are heard in the still houses: who has not heard them?

They have a silence that speaks for them at night and when the clock counts.

They say, We were young. We have died. Remember us.

They say, We have done what we could but until it is finished it is not done.

They say, We have given our lives but until it is finished no one can know what our lives gave.

They say, Our deaths are not ours: they are yours: they will mean what you make them.

They say, Whether our lives and our deaths were for peace and a new hope or for nothing we cannot say: it is you who must say this.

They say, We leave you our deaths: give them their meaning: give them an end to the war and a true peace: give them a victory that ends the war and a peace afterwards: give them their meaning.

I hope that as we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and their families, that we will dedicate ourselves to giving their lives meaning.  I also hope that we will devote ourselves to giving meaning to the lives of our loved ones who we remember.  One of the most meaningful prayers of remembrance to me is where we pray that in memory of our loved ones, we should live lives worth remembering.

How do we do this?  Please click on the link below that describes the Scroll of Ruth.  Her kindness to her mother-in-law and the way she conducts her life inspires me to want to practice kindness as a tribute to those I love and in honor of those who died or have been disabled, protecting us to keep us safe.

Finally, as we read the 10 Commandments, I am reminded of a special moment when I was 10 years old and my parents took me to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  In addition to the memory of pitching to my Dad on Doubleday Field in Cooperstown and my Mom filming this moment on an 8 millimeter camera, I think about my Dad stopping at the Hall of Fame the day we were leaving.  He ran upstairs and copied down the following which he then typed up and gave to me. (See below the link)

May these "commandments" inspire us as they have inspired me.

Chag Shavuot Sameach, Shabbat Shalom, and may Memorial Day be meaningful for you.

Rabbi Bruce Aft

Ruth and Lovingkindness


TEN COMMANDMENTS OF SPORTS


Thou shalt not quit.



Thou shalt not alibi.



Thou shalt not gloat over winning.



Thou shalt not sulk over losing.




Thou shalt not take unfair advantage.



Thou shalt not ask odds thou art unwilling to give.



Thou shalt always be willing to give thy opponent the benefit of the doubt.



Thou shalt not underestimate an opponent or overestimate thyself.



Remember that the game is the thing and (s)he who thinks otherwise is no true sportsperson.



Honor the game thou playest, for (s)he who plays the game straight and hard wins even though (s)he loses the game.



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