Memorial Day: This Year is Nothing Special, yet Everything Special

 

I have long felt uncomfortable with these Memorial Day sales and marketing events by the merchandizing sector.  They sort of completely miss the point of Memorial Day, namely, honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of America.

Upon me is now the aftermath of a perfect storm of my sister's passing, the litigation now at hand in my law practice, and grading exams and papers at the end of the semester.  Meanwhile, my wife has gone out of town on a family matter, and so, this weekend has been quite opportune for catching up on paperwork.  So I'm not entangled into any MemorialDayPalooza one way or the other

But amidst what otherwise would be a non-event, I did put in a remembrance for the fallen soldiers.  As a fundraising/involvement measure, my shul takes weekly sponsorships for the refreshments to accompany the Rabbi's discussion.  As it happened, the Torah portion read yesterday in synagogues worldwide was Bamidbar, which discusses, among other things, Moses taking the census of the Israelites and conscripting them for military service.  This, of course, is just a half step removed from the notion that in a war situation, there are likely to be some casualties.  So I sponsored the event this week, and made special mention of Memorial Day, and the Jewish American GIs who did not return home.

It is a message that needs to be reasserted.

Let this blog posting be a remembrance for ALL Americans who died in military service. 

Rest in Peace!