Page 12 - HaMizrachi #9 Yom HaAtzmaut 5779

Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein

forever

remembered?

hen thinking about Yom of our fallen heroes is not dependent As we remember the heroes of the past,
HaZikaron (Memorial Day on the fleeting fragility of our mortal we learn what true immortality is about.
W for Israel’s Fallen Soldiers memories and our temporary earthly As the verses from Psalms recited before
and Victims of Terror) one can be lives. True remembrance only resides Yizkor say: “But what is man that You
filled with sadness at the seeming with G-d. The souls of the fallen soldiers notice him? Man is like a fleeting breath.
futility of remembrance. The clichés stand before G-d forever with eternal His days are like a passing shadow. In the
of fallen soldiers living on through our merit – the merit of defending the State morning he blossoms and is rejuvenated
memorials can seem so empty. What and the people of Israel and Jews around and by evening is cut down and brittle.”
is human memory after all? Nothing the world; the merit of their bravery and
but images, recollections and thoughts absolute selflessness in sacrificing life And yet there is a very deep
– intangible, ethereal and even more itself so that their fellow Jews can live in psychological need for immortality.
fleeting than our physical lives on this safety and security. These holy souls and The Tree of Life was the tempting
earth. Mere mortals, we are here today their holy actions are never forgotten counterpart to the Tree of Knowledge
and gone tomorrow, with no trace left by G-d and their merit is eternal, more in the Garden of Eden. People are
of our physical existence, and certainly eternal than anything we know of in this constantly seeking ways to grasp
no trace left of the intangible memories physical world. some fragment of immortality. Our
embedded deep in our fragile brain physical bodies are indeed fleeting;
tissue. The memory and eternal merit of the however, through our souls G-d has
righteous heroes of the past are not in placed immortality at the heart of our
“There is no forgetfulness before Your our hands. They don’t need us for that. beings. As the Yizkor verses go on to
throne of glory.” These words of our And indeed, we couldn’t even begin to express, “The dust returns to the earth
Sages are the secret to understanding the
concept of memory. Human memory is do that for them. How can we temporal as it was, but the spirit returns to G-d
indeed fleeting and is as temporary as beings bestow eternity on others? Yizkor, Who gave it.” How pathetic and empty
the human body, which comes from dust the great remembrance prayer of Jewish is any attempt to find immortality
and returns to dust. But G-d is eternal tradition, says Yizkor Elokim – may G-d in the dust of the physical world. No
and He gave the gift of immortality to remember, not us – because only He building, monument, or physical
the soul. He also gave the gift of eternity can; it is only with the Eternal One, memorial of this world can ever give
to our deeds in this world. Every mitzvah Who was, is and always will be, that any a person the gift of immortality. The
a person does in this world has eternal concept of eternity exists. only eternal monuments of our lives are
merit before G-d, who gathers and Remembering our fallen soldiers is not the good deeds we take with us when
records every action of every human about granting them immortality – only our immortal souls return to G-d after
being. The soul and its legacy of deeds in G-d can do that – but it is to sensitize leaving the physical world, thereby
this world are forever. fulfilling the final of the Yizkor verses, “I,
us to acknowledge their sacrifices on in righteousness, will see Your face, and
As the people and the State of Israel our behalf with humble gratitude, and be blessed with a vision of You when I
gather on Yom HaZikaron and Jewish to ensure that the bereaved families are awake.”
communities throughout the Diaspora properly respected and cared for. It is
join in solidarity with memorial services not about our fleeting memories of the Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein is the Chief
on all continents, we all do so in the past, but about the moral imperative of Rabbi of South Africa
comfort of knowing that the legacy how we live in the present. office@chiefrabbi.co.za

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