Memorial Day Blessing; Sermon By: Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Shabbat Shalom

Although summer doesn’t officially begin until the summer solstice in June –we all know that this weekend marks the start of the summer season—Memorial Day weekend. Break out the white shoes, the BBQ grill and see if you have enough sun tan lotion left over from last summer! Shop the weekend Memorial Day sales! But it is a sad irony that this weekend is so filled with outdoor entertaining, sports events and picnics and relaxing. We have forgotten as a country that Memorial Day was a time in our country to remember those who gave their lives while serving in our Armed Forces.

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. It was proclaimed by Gen John Logan in 1868 as a way to honor the memory of the soldiers of the Civil War. The first Memorial Day in 1868 had flowers placed on all the graves of the soldiers both of the North and South that were interred in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. While Memorial Day became widely observed by the Northern States (the remnants of the Confederacy observing a different day), after World War I it became a day to honor the memory of all the war dead regardless of the conflict in which they served.
This year as the number of our war dead grows—our Memorial Day observances ought to take some time to recall the sacrifices that have been made not only in years past but in these last five years of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. It should not matter your political leanings or your feelings about the war, whether we should stay or go. This Memorial Day—Monday we need to take some time to pause and reflect about the more than 3000 American who have given their lives in service to our country.
In Israel, Yom Hazikron is Israel’s Memorial Day. It is the day before Israel’s Independence Day—Yom Ha-atzmaut. It is marked throughout the country with solemn commemorations. I have been present as a guest of the government at the moving and solemn memorial service at the Western Wall Plaza. Young people in uniforms from the various branches of the Israel Defense Forces line the plaza –a memorial flame is lit and songs and prayers amid speeches of memory with the Western Wall and Temple Mount as a backdrop. Each year parents and family of fallen soldiers are invited to attend and represent the many families of who have lost a son, daughter, spouse, husband or wife.
Because most everyone must serve in the Israel Defense Forces for a period of time and because every family has been touched by the death of a solider that they knew—a relative, a neighbor, a teacher, a co-workers child—Memorial Day in Israel truly honors and blesses the memory of those who died while serving their country.
Perhaps too because there is a direct link to the nation’s independence day—that the entire country sees the link between the patriotism of serving and dying for one’s country is linked to the freedom and independence of the nation. Unfortunately I believe that aspect is often lost here in our America.
In Israel on Yom HaZikaron—a siren of memory wails and the nation pauses. People get out of their cars on the freeway, buses empty, pedestrians pause. For two minutes the nation comes to a stand still to remember their war dead and the incredible cost of those lives to their family and to the nation of Israel. The silence descends upon the streets of Haifa and Tiberias, the hills of Jerusalem and the beaches of Tel Aviv. And in the silence there are tears, honor and even blessing. In the silence they give thanks for the sacrifice, the struggle and in the silence there are prayers for comfort and redemption.
There is a movement here in the United States to pause as well on Memorial Day to remember those soldiers who have died in service of their nation. In December of 2000, Congress established a National Moment of Remembrance and designated 3:00 p.m. on Memorial Day local time as a moment to pay tribute to individuals who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. But you and I know –it is hard to stop and pause for a memorial in the middle of pouring a Margarita—or a tennis match. The entire Memorial Day weekend certainly doesn’t encompass the solemnity of the message behind the remembrance. But this Monday I want to urge you to take a moment and think about the great freedoms you enjoy because some were willing to step forward in service to their nation. Take a moment with those that you are with at 3 pm this Monday to pay tribute and bless the memory of those soldiers who died in recent months and years and decades past.
. Indeed our Torah portion this week has a lot to say about blessing. In this week’s Parasha Naso—in the book of Numbers is the oldest blessing in the Bible. In fact this Priestley benediction was found on a silver amulet in 1979 and dates back to the time just before the first temple was destroyed in 586 BCE. It was found in a tomb just outside Jerusalem. You can see this in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem today. The special priestly benediction should be familiar to you—you have no doubt heard it many times:

יברכך יי וישמרך
יאר יי פניו אליך ויחנך
ישא יי פניו אליך וישם לך שלום.

Yvarechea Adonai v’yishmarecha,
Ya-eir Adonai Panav elicha v’chunecha,
Yisa Adonai Panav Elecha v’yasem l’cha shalom.
As Rabbi Judith Abrams, a Reform Rabbi, is a wonderful Talmud scholar writes about this prayer: “It is constructed of 3, 5 and 7 words in each respective verse. There are 15, 20 and 25 letters in the verses. When arranged as a pyramid, the center words contain the heart of the blessing itself: Adonai panav elecha.”
May God’s face be turned toward you.
When we offer a blessing—as the priest or Cohen traditionally offered to us we want the Holy One’s glory to descend upon those we have blessed. We want the beauty and holiness of God to envelope us and protect us; to guard our spirit and our soul. This ancient blessing is used to invite God to send peace and protection over those who are important to us. To those we love and care about. Thus this blessing –the priestly benediction is given at weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. It is used for invocations and benedictions. It is used in the synagogue in the worship service and especially on the festivals. It is used at our Shabbat tables to bless the next generation—our children. This blessing is common in both Jewish and Christian liturgies.
I think it is no mistake that this amulet with the priestly benediction was found in a tomb—a burial place. Because when a loved one dies –that is what we pray—for them to be a peace; to protect their soul for all eternity. We want the Divine to greet our loved ones upon their death and bring them assure them of a different kind of existence—Eternal life. Certainly this protection was desired more than 2500 years ago by one of our ancestors in a tomb outside Jerusalem.
So this weekend even as we take a moment to relax perhaps and enjoy the unofficial start of summer—let us pause on Monday to bless the memories of those who died in while in service to our country. In your blessing you will make their lives even more meaningful and the losses their families endure will be elevated as sacred losses. You will lift up the day towards the Jewish ideal of kedusha—holiness through your blessing and remembrance. This will help transform Memorial Day back to being something more than a picnic to its meaning at inception—rather than the party weekend it has become. And in so doing –help God’s face shine upon the dead but also upon the living and upon our nation as well.

Ken Yehi Ratzon. So may it be God’s will.

Posted by Lee at May 29, 2007 09:48 AM