Old-Fashioned RAM

Last week, at the suggestion of a friend, I deleted my Google search history (not that there was anything inappropriate there - only keywords under strict rabbinic supervision).  I had not even known that this record existed, but digging deeply into my account, I found that everything that I had electronically sought since August of 2007 was just sitting there in this history file.  It was a wee bit scary and vaguely fascinating, and then it was gone.  Perhaps.

We are witnesses to a paradigm shift with respect to memory.  Whereas our "permanent records" once contained only a few bytes of information, in the near future virtually everything about us will be readily available - where we were, who we were with, what we were thinking at the time, and so forth.

Judaism is essentially all about memory.  We read and study the Torah over and over, recalling stories that go back 3000 years and more, and making them come alive for the present day.  We celebrate holidays that invoke collective, national memory - tales of creation, revelation, and redemption.  We name our children after deceased relatives, renewing personal memories in the circle of life.  We endlessly recall the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, gone since 70 CE*, in liturgy and ritual.  And on and on.

The Shabbat right before Purim is called Shabbat Zakhor, the Sabbath of "Remember!".  On it we read a passage from Deuteronomy that includes the commandment to remember Amaleq, the tribe from which Shushan's bad boy Haman descended, specifically to erase this tribe from global memory.  This is ironic, particularly since the book of Esther tells us that Haman and all of his sons were destroyed.  There have been no Amaleqites for perhaps 2500 years, and yet we continually remember to blot them out.

As technology redefines memory, we Jews will sail into this curious, unforgettable future using the same approach that we have always taken.  Our memories have kept us alive and sustained us for millennia, even when we remember so that the world may forget.

~
Rabbi Seth Adelson

(Originally delivered at Temple Israel of Great Neck, Friday evening, 3/2/2012.)

* CE = "Common era" - Jews prefer not to use the Christian formulation AD, or "anno domini," Latin for "in the year of our lord," i.e. Jesus.

Elul 16: Things to Remember in Elul

Another name for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year is Yom ha-Zikaron, the day of remembrance, as remembering is one of the major themes of the holiday. On those days, we try to remember God, and we hope that God remembers us.

Doesn't it make sense, however, to start remembering the important things now, as a sort of warm-up? We are now half-way through the month of Elul, and we have been blowing the shofar every morning to help awaken our memories.

As such, here are a few things to recall as Elul heads into the final stretch:

Synagogue sounds from the High Holidays - the melodies, the shofar, the mumbling of prayers, the silent, holy moments, the qol demamah daqqah (still, small voice).

Gathering of family for holiday meals, attending synagogue, and so forth.

The particular heft of the High Holiday mahzor / prayerbook.

The Torah readings of the day, including the story of the Aqedah, the binding and near-sacrifice of Isaac at the hands of his father, Abraham.

The custom of throwing away our sins at the tashlikh ceremony.

And, of course, there are the good and not-so-good things we have done in the past year, of which we should also be taking note. Perhaps these remembrances will help us to remember two weeks from now, when it counts.