Here is a text version of Rabbi Schwartzs remarks from Saturday nights Kritallnacht Commemorative Service: There is a classic Hasidic tale about the challenge of preserving memory. As the story goes when Rabbi Israel Ba’al Shem Tov, the great Hasidic master, saw misfortune threatening the Jews it was his custom to go to a certain place in the forest to meditate. There he would light a fire, say a special prayer, and the miracle would be accomplished and the misfortune turned aside. Later, when his disciple the Maggid of Mezeritch needed to intercede on behalf of the Jews he would go to the same place in the forest and say this: “Master of the Universe, I do not know how to light the fire, but I am still able to recite the prayer,” and he would say the prayer, and the miracle would be accomplished and the Jews would be spared. In the next generation Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sasov, when the Jews needed help, would go into the forest and say “Master of the Universe, listen! I do not know how to light the fire, and I have forgotten the prayer, but I know this is the place, and that must be sufficient,” and it was, and the Jews were spared. Then a generation later Rabbi Israel of Rhyzin was the great Hasidic master of his time. The time came for him to call God’s attention to the plight of the Jews. “Master of the Universe, he said. I do not know where the place in the forest is, so I sit at home in my chair. And I do not know the words of the prayer, and I have forgotten also the way to light the fire. But I can tell this story, and that must be sufficient.” And it was, and the Jews were spared. Tonight we come together to tell the story, the story of Kristallnacht. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the events that many now see as the formal beginning of Nazi Germany’s descent to a place of inhumanity and Godlessness. But if it is a 75th anniversary we know that there are few left who were old enough to witness the events of that horrible evening first hand and to remember them. But we also know that in another few years, whether 5 or even 10, when there is no one left who experienced Kristallnacht, it will be our responsibility to remember and to tell the story to our children and grandchildren. That is a paradoxical problem - for how can we remember what we did not see and experience - how can we fulfill our obligation of continuing to tell the story we know we must tell? In the words of the Hasidic tale, if we do not know the place in the forest, if we do not remember the prayer and the way to make the fire, will our way of telling the story be sufficient? Perhaps in fact that is a particularly Jewish talent. We are masters of telling stories about events that we did not experience first hand. We do it on Hanukkah and Purim, and most powerfully we do it on Passover when we sit down at the seder table. We have told our stories well enough to sustain our traditions, our faith, and our sense of shared history now for thousands of years. And so we add this story - like so many of our tales one that begins with sadness and loss, but ends with survival of the Jewish people, and ultimately the rebirth of the State of Israel. May our telling of the story this year be sufficient, so that in the years to come those who come after us will pick up the tale, and the history of our people will be both remembered and honored -
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 13:09:55 +0000
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