Rabbi's Blog

Dear OZ family,

Today, America observes Memorial day to remember the supreme sacrifice of her uniformed citizens in the defense of our country’s ideals. This day has a parallel in the modern Israeli calendar, as well as in the Biblical calendar. In Israel, Memorial day is the day before Independence Day, and it commemorates the losses suffered by Israel in all its wars, fought by armies against a sovereign nation as well as by terrorists against civilians. Israel lost one in 100 of its population in her War of Independence, the equivalence of America losing 3.5 million soldiers in a war lasting a few months. There could have been a Palestinian State at that time, but the Arab world chose war instead.

The Biblical parallel is the day that celebrates the birthday of the world, a memorial day of sorts where we remember our deeds of the past year in an attempt to improve ourselves and make commitments for a better year ahead. The Torah never refers to this day as Rosh Hashana, and we call it Yom Hazikaron, Memorial Day. For us memory is all about improving on the past and making things better.

In this week’s Torah reading, Moshe sends 12 men ahead to scout the land they were about to enter. Each one is mentioned with his tribe, but a strange thing happens when Yosef’s two tribes, Ephraim and Menashe are mentioned. When Ephraim’s scout is mentioned he is simply designated by his tribe, then his name, Hoshea bin Nun, but when Menashe’s tribe is mentioned, he is introduced by a reference to Yosef, and then his tribe, followed by his name, Gadi ben Sussi. If Yosef is to be mentioned, why not with respect to both his sons? The answer has to do with a rare word used by the Torah to describe an evil report. Yosef spoke ill of his brothers, and the Torah uses the same word to describe that report as it does for the report of the scouts. Regarding Yosef, the Torah says: “Vayave Dibatam Ra’ah el Avihem” (Bereshit 37:2), and regarding the scouts, the Torah says: “Vayotzi’u Dibat Ha’aretz” (B’midbar 13:32). The “Dibah” spoken by both Yosef and 10 of the scouts makes it so that only Menashe, whose scout joined in the Dibah, is associated with Yosef, and not Ephraim, whose scout did not.

Memorial Day is a day for us to express and show our appreciation for soldiers who served our country’s ideals, and gave the supreme sacrifice of life and limb. It is also an opportunity to show our appreciation for all uniformed men and women who keep us safe and secure. We had the opportunity to show our appreciation for the police of our local precinct, Manhattan 24, last Shabbat. It brought back memories of a Friday Night when we invited fire fighters right after 9/11 to walk into a packed Friday Night sanctuary to thunderous applause that lasted the better part of 10 minutes. The police in our country have been the victim of “Dibah Ra’ah” these past years, no less corrosive than that of the 10 scouts. Complaints of systemic racism made at the highest levels of our government malign our country and cause great damage. There are certainly individual racists in many places and in every occupation, but to claim that it is systemic feeds very well into the hands of our enemies.

News reports are coming out now about how incensed and livid our president was (along with his wife) when he was accused  of racism by his current vice president, in a debate, regarding legislation he had signed over 40 years ago. Yet he had no problem and continues to have no problem maligning systemic racism in our country. It is no wonder that BLM finds comrades in arms with Palestinian Liberation. Both movements have been ruinous for the  very people they mean to support, and ignore the real steps needed to lift people from the genuine suffering they experience. I saw a new shirt that is being worn by proponents of BLM. It says Blue Lives Murder. This is despicable. What is causing the deaths of so many hundreds of precious black lives all over major US cities is precisely the police defunding policies so popular these days.    

This country , as well as Israel, is in need of great healing. It is certainly appropriate on Memorial Day to remember the shameful elements of America’s past when racism was very much systemic and permeated every part of life. In the spirit of the Torah’s Memorial Day, also known as Rosh Hashana, it is certainly worthy today to commit to make improvements to our best abilities.  A color-blind country is what Martin Luther King envisioned, and if he were with us today, he would also reiterate his unwavering support for Israel in her own struggles. May our countries be healed and bestowed with the blessings of peace and tranquility on this day of remembrance.

Rabbi Allen Schwartz

Congregation Ohab Zedek

118 West 95^th Street | New York, NY  10025-6604

Phone 212.749-5150, ext 200 | Fax 212.663-3635

E-mail ras@ozny.org

Website:  www.ozny.org