Memorial Day

This American National Holiday is for the remembrance of those who have fallen in battle protecting the United States. This sparks an interesting set of questions for me. As a student, I am not in the military, and although many of our citizens are currently abroad in many countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan, I don't know anyone who is there. Maybe that says something about me more than most, but it still creates an separation between what is abroad and what is here.

My grandfather served in the Navy during WWII and so I suppose, although I don't know anyone who is currently abroad, I have a certain respect for those who protect their homelands.

This particular day I feel, in a Jewish context can be seen as a beginning of a discussion on memory. What is it to remember? Why do we remember some things and not others?

While I don't have any texts to quote or anything, I have always felt that memories are direct links to the past, either our own personally or the past of the collective. The Jewish people, it appears, have one of the strongest connections to the past. We constantly talk about our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Esther, Ruth, Daniel, need I go on? (I'm sorry but I have to add Tevye, the great character from Fiddler on the Roof) What is the lesson here?

It seems to me that our constant attention to our past and our ancestry teaches us the importance of following in their footsteps. The courage, intelligence, audacity, and the ability to stand up for what one believes in are all things that we can learn from these ancestors.

So on this day, Memorial Day, I have chosen to think about all the things we can learn from those that only exist in our memories.

What have you learned from someone in your memory? What do you think the importance of remembering is? Are there times to forget things?

Jeremy Markiz