Two Celebrations of Life

 

This month we will, as have done the generations before, commemorate two events that are connected in many ways:

The traditional Veterans Day holiday is a time set aside to pay tribute to the men and women who have served and currently serve our country through military service. Ever since the War of Independence, our citizens have understood the need to be ready to defend and protect our rights and liberties.

President Abraham Lincoln eloquently spoke of the responsibility we each carry to proudly proclaim that this nation “of the people, by the people and for the people” shall not perish from the earth. This has been our solemn duty and our sacred commitment and has been tested time after time on and off the battlefield.

Millions of people throughout the world have prospered because of our involvement in the rights of all. We are here today to confirm that faith in human dignity. We do this every year when we pay tribute to those men and women who answer the call in defense of freedom.

This holiday, which started out as an armistice for peace, has blossomed into a desire for strength of purpose through strength of conviction. We know full well that peace, true peace, cannot be achieved without the ability to protect and defend the rights of every man, woman and child as described in our Declaration of Independence: “the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

We then direct our attention to Thanksgiving. This holiday, too, was designed to impress upon us the need to not only be strong but also to be grateful for that strength. We have much to be thankful for in addition to God. Thanksgiving is a time set aside to remember, with humility, our past because it was that past that gave  us our future. Humbleness is essential to truly recognize the gifts of life. We have reached this milestone in our lives because of hard work and determination. We have achieved greatness of purpose because we began with a simple premise: All things are possible with God.

Families will gather and enjoy the bounties of nature and as we become satisfied with our delicacies, we should never forget the struggles of so many less fortunate. Be thankful for what we have but be sympathetic to those who have not. Enjoy the pleasures of family and friends but be ever mindful of those who will be alone this Thanksgiving.

Yes, Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate fulfillment, but it is also a reminder that there are those in need of a helping hand. Perhaps when we are eating our scrumptious food, we should, at the end of the meal, leave a little on the plate to remind us that there are those who don’t even have that much to eat.

I thank Geri Gould for sending me a poem written by Mary Oliver, some excerpts of which I include:

·       Do you bow your head when you pray, or do you look up into that blue space? 

·       Take your choice, prayers fly in all directions. 

·       And don’t worry about the language you use. God no doubt understands them all.

Join us on Friday evening, November 14, 7:00 pm, at our regular Shabbat Service at which time we will honor our veterans and pay tribute to our own Copper Post #619, JWV. We will express our gratitude to God with bowed heads, not in just any direction, but always toward God. Perhaps it is no accident that both holidays occur near each other.

May the blessings of this season bring all of us the joy and happiness we so richly deserve.