Memorial Day, Kindness, and Giving Lives Meaning

 Dear Friends,


I am not as timely as I would wish but I wanted to send a blog about Memorial Day.

As you read the poem below, I hope that we will give meaning to the lives of those who have died so that we can enjoy freedom.

I also hope we will find ways to give meaning to those innocent victims around the world who have died since last Memorial Day.  We live in a world that is cracked and we must bring in light.

We also remember the tragic deaths of Sarah Pilgrim and Yaron Lischinsky who died at the Capital Jewish Museum. 


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. 
We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning. 
We were young, they say. We have died; remember us.

As we prepare for the Jewish Festival of Shavuot which reminds us of the revelation at Mt. Sinai and the giving of the Torah, I hope you will find this link to be informative as it describes kindness and mentions Ruth (See the link below and hopefully you can open it even though it is upside down).  We read the Megillah (Scroll) of Ruth at this time of year and what stands out to me this year, especially as I continue to mourn for my beloved wife, Sue, is the kindness both Ruth and Sue performed in their lives.

As we look to bring light into our lives, I hope that we will all be a little kinder, a little more understanding, and more willing to give the benefit of the doubt.

When I did a tour of an old neighborhood where we lived in Chicago recently to feel Sue's presence and to see an old friend, I was reminded of the following song lyrics (no surprise that I would quote lyrics).  These are from "My Fair Lady."

I have often walked down this street before
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before
All at once am I several stories high
Knowing I'm on the street where you live(d).

Are there lilac trees in the heart of town
Can you hear a lark in any other part of town
Does enchantment pour out of every door
No, it's just on the street where you live(d).

And oh, the towering feeling
Just to know somehow you are near
The overpowering feeling
That any second you may suddenly appear.

People stop and stare.
They don't bother me
For there's no-where else on earth
That I would rather be.

Let the time go by;
I won't care if I
Can be here on the street where you live(d).
Can be here on the street where you live(d).

Although I wish that Sue would suddenly appear physically, I realize that she will appear when we, like Ruth, perform acts of kindness and love.  May we all be raised up by traveling  the street where she lived and help her to appear often through our acts of chesed (kindness).

Perhaps in this way, we will give meaning to all those who we remember on Memorial Day and who we remember at our Memorial service (Yizkor) on Shavuot.

Thanks for listening to me grieve and try to find meaning in recent events.  If you are reading this and have any stories that might comfort me or need a listening ear because of what you are going through, please email me at rabbibruce@gmail.com 

Rabbi Bruce Aft


 

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