Reb Jeff
  • Blog
  • About
  • Favorites
  • Resources
    • Counting of the Omer
  • Wedding Officiation
  • Contact Me
  • Temple Sinai

While Memory Holds a Seat

9/25/2012

 
Last Sunday I co-officiated with our congregation's wonderful cantor at the community's annual kever avot service. "Kever avot" means "burial place of ancestors," and the service is an opportunity for people to visit the cemetery during the Days of Awe, to pay respects to relatives who are buried there, or just to remember those who have died no matter where their remains may lie. 
Picture
Making such a visit during the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is a mitzvah. It fulfills a sacred obligation to sanctify the memory of those we love who are no longer with us. It also helps us to prepare for Yom Kippur by placing within our minds and hearts an awareness of our own fragility, fallibility and mortality. 

Yom Kippur, which begins tonight at sunset, is the one day of the year we set aside for focussing on that truth for 24 straight hours. It is not easy. We have minds that habitually seek to think about just about anything else. We spend our lives distracted by the necessities of getting through the day, harboring opinions and pursuing personal preferences and desires. We seldom find the time to turn our thoughts to the great truths: we are temporary and we owe our entire lives to a source beyond ourselves.

After the formal part of Sunday's kever avot service, I watched people wander around the cemetery grounds, finding names of loved ones, old friends, and other reminders of memories that have faded but not disappeared. I watched as one person sat on the ground to get closer. People came up to me to ask a question about the cemetery, to share a story about their beloved, to whisper a name. They remembered.

In the first act of Hamlet, the prince is called to these difficult thoughts by a visit from his father's ghost. Shakespeare gets it just right when he has Hamlet say:

Remember thee!
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee!
Yea, from the table of my memory
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there;
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven!

(Hamlet, Act I, Scene V)

Yom Kippur is our day for wiping away the trivial and focusing on what really matters, unmixed with baser matter. As we stand before the open ark and ask God to answer us and to be gracious to us, despite our meager deeds, we remember who we really are. We put our lives into perspective and confront some deep truths.

Our lives are small, the universe is vast. While we are here, the task is ours to do the best we can. Still, we can reach beyond our temporary selves by remembering, and making ourselves worthy of memory.


Other Posts on This Topic:
Bo: Hitting Rock Bottom
Steve Jobs and Yom Kippur
Funerals
Beth link
9/25/2012 04:02:11 am

I was extremely moved this Sunday at the Kever Avot service. Singing Shiviti always takes me to the kind of introspection that the Qaddish itself doesn't always do for me. To worship with our congregational family for this service is extremely humbling and powerful. G'mar Chatimah Tovah!


Comments are closed.

    Welcome

    This blog is about living a joyful Jewish life and bringing joy to synagogues and the Jewish community. Join the conversation by commenting on posts and sharing your experiences. For more on the topic, read the First Post.
    "Like" Reb Jeff on FB

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address to subscribe to Reb Jeff posts by email

    Follow Reb Jeff's Tweets

    Recent Posts

    Purim & COVID-19
    ​The Honor of Heaven
    Chasing Our Own Tails
    Drilling Under Your Seat
    Change the World
    Self-Righteousness
    Where We Came From
    What We Must Believe
    ​Is Passover 7 or 8 Days?Origin Story
    Va'eira: Leadership​

    Jeff's Favorites

    • First Post
    • Searching for How the Bible Defines Marriage 
    • The Difference between God and Religion
    • In the Beginning of What?
    • Rape, Abortion and Judaism
    • Ten Thoughts about Being a Rabbi
    • Temple Dues and Don'ts
    • A Pesach Lesson from Yoga
    • The Purpose of the Torah

    Torah Portions

    Genesis
    Bereshit
    Noach
    Lech Lecha
    Vayera
    Chayei Sarah
    Toledot
    Vayetze
    Vayishlach
    Vayeshev
    Miketz
    Vayigash
    Vayechi

    Exodus
    Shemot
    Va'eira
    Bo
    Beshalach
    Yitro
    Mishpatim
    Terumah
    Tetzaveh
    Ki Tisa
    Vayakhel
    Pekudei

    Leviticus
    Vayikra
    Tzav
    Shemini
    Tazria
    Metzora
    Acharei Mot
    Kedoshim
    Emor
    Behar
    Bechukotai

    Numbers
    Bamidbar
    Naso
    Beha'alotecha
    Shelach
    Korach
    Chukat
    Balak
    Pinchas
    Matot
    Masei

    Deuteronomy
    Devarim
    Va'etchanan
    Ekev
    Re'eh
    Shoftim
    Ki Tetze
    Ki Tavo
    Nitzavim
    Vayelech
    Ha'azinu
    Vezot Haberachah

    Holidays
    Shabbat
    Rosh Chodesh
    Pesach/Passover
    Omer Period
    Yom HaShoah
    Yom HaZikaron
    Yom Ha'atzma'ut
    Pesach Sheini
    Lag B'Omer
    Yom Yerushalayim
    Shavuot
    Fast of Tammuz
    Tisha B'Av
    Tu B'Av
    Rosh Hashanah
    Days of Awe
    Yom Kippur
    Sukkot
    Hoshanah Rabbah
    Shmini Atzeret/
    Simchat Torah
    Chanukah
    Tu BiShvat
    Adar (Joy Increases!)
    Purim

    Archives

    November 2022
    September 2022
    May 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    Loading
    Jewish Bloggers
    Powered By Ringsurf
    Picture