B'Midbar: Remember when...?

Memory is SUCH a powerful tool. I think we all know that, but - ironically - sometimes we forget. It bears repeating, much like the memories themselves, because especially in times of turmoil, chaos, and uncertainty, memory can help us

get by. Maybe one of the reasons we forget, or just don't like to think about it, is because memories can also be painful. Right now, as most of us continue to endure lockdown and quarantine, talking about our social lives pre-virus, or sharing funny stories about things we did only months ago, can really hurt. It feels bitter to focus on what we had, what we did, and who we were... yet, conversely, it can also help give us hope, motivation, and resilience. This concept converges for me, this week, in the intersecting of our Torah portion, Memorial Day, and a special Shabbat celebration that I'm still gonna try and pull off.

Memorial Day is a particularly good example of this, right? We talk about people we have lost, who were often cut down before their prime, and/or whose service to our
nation sometimes seems tragically forgotten. So even if it hurts to focus on them, shedding tears and talking about their serving in uniform for all our safety DOES indeed honor their memory. More than just recalling, it may also help us pursue peace today, take better care of our current military veterans, or imagine a better future for the next generation(s). Every year, at Ohev Shalom, we hold a lovely Memorial Day service at our own synagogue cemetery. This year, most of the participants will be joining online, over zoom. But the service WILL take place, and a few individuals handling logistics will STILL be at the cemetery. We do this because the service is important, its meaning remains vital, and even just the value of repetition and continuity, of holding the annual service no matter what, has immeasurable power and purpose. If you'd like to call in, our Memorial Day service will take place on Monday, May 25th, at 11:00 a.m.

It doesn't always work out this way, but in 2020, Memorial Day Weekend lines up with the Torah portion of B'Midbar, the beginning of the fourth Book of the Torah (also called B'Midbar, or "Numbers" in English). Having spent the whole third Book
camped at Mount Sinai, learning about a gazillion laws, the Israelites now restart their journey through the desert. As they shake off the dust, stretch their legs, and prepare to march, the Torah tells us, "The Israelites shall camp each with their standard, under the banners of their ancestral house..." (Num. 2:2) An ancient rabbinic text, called Midrash Rabbah, asks a logical question here: What did those "standards" or "banners" for each tribe look like?? Like our favorite sports team today (well, a few months ago anyway...), did each of the twelve tribes have a different color scheme, logo, and symbol printed on all their desert paraphernalia???

The author of Midrash Rabbah attempted to answer that question by assigning a different symbol to each tribe, using various references and reasoning for each. In 2015, our synagogue, Ohev Shalom, created a set of beautiful, artistic mosaics, that now adorn the walls of our Main Sanctuary.

And because the images on each mosaic were chosen from THIS text, based on THIS Torah portion, I decided to make parashat B'Midbar our annual Shabbat Shevatim, the Shabbat of the Tribes. If you participated in the art project, please join on Saturday morning and share something about your experience. Or if you just want to know HOW people participated and what it was all about, come join for that as well. I do want to also note that we may feel a twinge of pain and lament, remembering how well-over 100 people joined to get their hands dirty and make these works of art. No social distancing back then! But memory is truly essential. It reminds us what community is all about, what we're striving to get back to, and how great it will be when we can sit together once more, and enjoy the artwork - and each other - (please God) someday soon.


CC images in this blog post, courtesy of:
1. Billy Hathorn on Wikipedia
2. Ohev Shalom's Memorial Day service, 2013
3. Feedback on Wikimedia Commons
4. mosaics