A number of years ago, if you would have asked me what Memorial Day meant to me, I would have said – Our annual family barbeque, no school!, and Memorial Day sales in stores. That was as meaningful as it got.
Until one year when I decided to take my kids to watch the Memorial Day parade near our house. In addition to the marching bands and groups of police and firemen were groups of veterans, in their uniforms, marching as well. It was then that for the first time I really appreciated Memorial Day for what it is – Yom HaZikaron for America.
Along with feeling concern and gratitude for חיילי צה"ל, I also feel appreciation for American servicepeople, stationed all over the world, who help make this world a safer and better place for everyone. If not for the sacrifice that every one of them makes, leaving safety behind to face unknown dangers, America would not be the country that it is, a country that stands up for democracy and that is a haven for the oppressed.
Memorial Day is our opportunity to pay homage to those soldiers who gave up their lives so that we could live in peace, and to show appreciation to those who fought and came back - sometimes wounded or traumatized - so that our lives could carry on like normal, although theirs would likely not.
It is an American holiday, not a Jewish one, but celebrating it meaningfully is an expression of the very Jewish value of הכרת הטוב. So if you have the opportunity, watch a parade and clap as the veterans walk by, or if not, let’s take a moment away from our barbeques and shopping trips to think about the real meaning of the day, and appreciate those whom it is meant to honor.
1 comment:
I was going to post something about this, but I'm glad you did. It's interesting though, that until you made yourself aware, you, like most of us, thought of Memorial Day as a day for barbecues and ushering n summer. I'm sure that in some areas and some communities it feels like Yom HaZikaron, but our irreverence is the result of America having the luxury of fielding a strictly volunteer military. Most of us probably don't personally know anyone in active duty, let alone being touched personally by the inevitable tragedies of war. This is a fairy tale existence that is unique in history. In Israel, everyone know soldiers, fallen and active.
To me, today is a day for making sure to remember those heroes who gave us the protections and security that allows us to barbecue, but also to appreciate our country - simply the most impressive display of government in history, as well as the safest haven our people have ever known.
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