The poet Yehuda Amichai writes:
A hymn of remembrance
for those who died in war. Even the remembering generation dwindles and dies,
half in ripe old age and half in unripe old age,
and who will remember those who remember?…
Memorial Day, for most of us, is a day for barbecues, sales, and breaking out the summer whites. This year, like so many other things, it feels a little different—but perhaps it is an opportunity. Perhaps this year, we can take a moment (According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. local time every Memorial Day), and reflect on the generations who came before, brave men and women who risked everything for our safety, peace, and freedom.
I have shed more than one tear over the last couple of months, watching friends broadcasting the nightly 7pm “Salute” to frontline workers in New York City. Night after night, people stand on their balconies, their stoops, or lean out of their windows, banging pots and pans, blowing whistles, and offering applause for the doctors, nurses, technicians, janitors, delivery people, and others who are—day in and day out—risking their health and safety so that most of us can stay home, for ourselves and for the greater good.
Who will remember those who remember? The answer is always us.
—Rabbi Sari Laufer