Sunday, July 29, 2012

We Remember You

The fast of Tisha B'Av is over. It's a hard day, not as hard, I find as Yom Kippur but still the history of the Jewish people, and the terrible things that have happened to the Jewish people right on Tisha B'Av during history weigh heavily on the mind during the day.

The destruction of the Jewish Temple has its roots in a concept called "Sinat Chinam", which means baseless hatred. It's funny though because "chinam" in Hebrew also means free. But that makes sense also-there are unlimited quantities of hatred, it's a cheap, ample product.

Anyway, the concept of memory is an important one. Collective memory, family memory. And then I saw this article, about the ongoing Herculean efforts underway right now in Europe to find missing US servicemen who are still recorded as missing in action. 

This paragraph sums it up:

"We make a promise to our service members never to leave a fallen comrade behind," says JPAC public affairs officer Lee Tucker, who is also on site. "That can't be an empty promise, and this is an extension of that."

No empty promises. It's a simple promise, but a powerful one. We won't leave you, we won't forget you. G-d bless the men and women who died fighting for our freedom, G-d bless their memories and bless those looking for their remains today.

Related: Bodies of WW2 Airmen recovered in Quebec waters.