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Musical NotesSeptember 2003From the Desk of Marjorie HochbergOne of my favorite stories from the Talmud concerns a rabbi and his son, walking down the road together. Walking towards them from up the road were a drunkard and his son. The drunkard and his son were both very drunk, and so unsteady on their feet that at one point they stumbled into a ditch at the side of the road. Watching as the two intoxicated men helped each other to their feet, the Rabbi turned to his son and said, "How I envy that man! He already knows that his son will be just like him, but I don't yet know if you will follow in my footsteps." The example our parents modeled for us, good or bad, simple or complex, shape our lives forever. Even when they are no longer on this earthly plane, the need to connect, remember and honor them lives on. One of the many ways we express that need is through participation in Kever Avot services on the Sunday before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. At Kever Avot (literally, the Graves of our Parents), Jews meet at the community cemetery to participate in a brief service honoring our departed loved ones and their memories. Historically, Kever Avot was a mostly superstitious occasion prompted by the fear of death. Jews would take advantage of the auspicious timing before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when the Book of Life was open and God's judgment was open to argument, to ask their departed loved ones to intercede on their behalf and make sure that their names were recorded for another year of life. In our time, Kever Avot is not so much about soliciting heavenly intervention as about reconnecting with our personal history and honoring those who shaped it. The examples of our teachers and sages who lived and died for Judaism, our grandparents who crossed the Atlantic to live in freedom, our departed parents who taught us to tie our shoes, share our toys and say the Sh'ma deserve our honor and gratitude, and their example gives us the courage to live our lives in a mentchlich way. This year, we have three very special Kever Avot services. Sunday, September 21st at 12:30 pm, is an historic Kever Avot Service and Re-Consecration of Shaarei Shalom Cemetery. Shaarei Shalom is at 2151 S Avenida Los Reyes, Tucson, AZ 85748-8238. At 2:00 pm, Kever Avot Services are at Evergreen Cemetery, 3015 N. Oracle Road in the Temple Emanu-El Section, and at 4:00 pm, Kever Avot Services are at the Nogales Jewish Cemetery in Nogales, Arizona. Líshana Tovah Tikateivu, A good and sweet year to all of you. |
