Golda Och Academy asked me to write a D’var Torah for the student body last week. I’m pleased to share with you what I wrote:
A few days ago, I was cleaning my room (well, my office) and buried deep in a desk drawer I found a picture of myself when I was 15 years old sitting on a camel in Israel. That pic was taken during my 9th grade class trip to Israel — the first time I had ever visited Israel. By the way, is camel riding in Israel still a thing these days or did that trend end with me in the 1990s?!
Anyway, I hadn’t thought about that trip in a long time, but finding the photo brought back such wonderful memories. The memories brought a smile to my face as I thought about my former classmates and how that trip really strengthened my connection to Israel.
Finding a picture that elicited such a powerful act of remembrance felt like a precious gift. But it turns out that Judaism sees the act of remembrance as more than an occasional or accidental gift. Remembrance, according to our tradition, is a commandment, a requirement. In fact, the commandment to remember is repeated well over 100 times in the Torah. Remembrance is so central to our tradition that it was instituted as one of the three major liturgical themes of Rosh Hashanah. It is also the nickname of this week’s Shabbat. We always refer to the Shabbat before Purim as “Shabbat Zachor – Shabbat of Remembrance,” during which we are commanded to remember all those in our long history who have sought to do harm to the Jewish people, like Haman.
Why is the act of remembrance such a core part of our tradition? Let me share two possible reasons.
- We, the Jewish people, are not the only ones commanded by the Torah to remember. God, too, is compelled by the Torah to remember. The mitzvah to remember is as much an obligation of God’s as it is ours. Or, maybe it’s the other way around. The act of remembrance is a divine trait. God exercises the act of remembrance throughout the Torah. When we remember, we are using a Divine tool, emulating God. Remembering is a Divine quality.
- Remembering gives added significance to the fulfillment of many of our other mitzvot: by observing Shabbat, we remember Shabbat; by re-telling the Exodus story at our Pesach sedarim, we remember our exodus from slavery; by blowing the shofar, we remember God’s covenant. Remembrance can serve as the catalyst to the observance of so many of our mitzvot.
The act of remembering brings us closer to God; it guides us in the fulfillment of mitzvot; it helps us honor our grandparents and other loved ones who might no longer be in this world; it reminds us of our happiest times and the darker times in our history; and remembering is our acknowledgement that the past is a crucial ingredient in deciding how we construct the future.
On this Shabbat Zachor, find an old photo album and take a trip down memory lane. Let us heed the commandment to remember — our families’ stories, our heritage, and our traditions.
Rabbi Ari Isenberg
