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AUGUST 3, 2014, 5:40 AM

 

We are a people of memory and remembrance. Our celebratory holidays help make sure we know from whence we came. Our memorial observances insure we understand grief and allow ourselves to touch the pain of loss. That psychological and spiritual excursive is, however, just the first step. For memory and loss by themselves are, at best static and, at worst, internal forms of idolatry. Remembrance that allows us to sit in our anguish serves to simply lock us in the past. It does little to honor the memory of what we, our loved ones and our community endured. Remembrance that calls us to action however opens the door to a future of action.

This is, perhaps, best seen in our communal commemoration of Tisha B’av and its aftermath.

Read more: Remembrance Is Just the First Step | Daniel M. Cohen | The Blogs | The Times of Israel http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/remembrance-is-just-the-first-step/#ixzz3As4DLqXQ 
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