Question posed to Menachem Bluming this week: Should Confederate statues be taken down?

Here’s a thought:

 I will leave the resolution of this conundrum to others while I focus on a more fundamental aspect of the matter.

A statue, any statue, is purposely made to look solid, imposing and, above all, enduring - able to withstand the vicissitudes of time and even to seem immortal, as the very word monument (a lasting public tribute) implies. But, in reality this is all only an illusion.

As powerful as these monuments may seem, the truth is that they are ephemeral and transient. What is now being so powerfully demonstrated, is that these monuments only last as long as the ideas they represent endure. The moment that societal sensibilities shift, they can be unceremoniously taken down and shipped off to the dump. This is not just a contemporary condition but has been the way of history from time immemorial.

Have you ever wondered why there are no Jewish monuments? Even King David, who fought and was victorious in many wars and secured the land of Israel, didn't have a memorial erected in his honor. The Torah states “You shall not erect for yourself a (stone) pillar which the L-rd your G-d hates” (Deuteronomy16:22). And, in all of the archeological excavations that have been done in Israel no monuments have been discovered - because none were ever erected.

So what do we, as Jews, do as a memorial?

Stone and metal may look impressive for a time but they are temporary. Torah, on the other hand, our four-thousand year old legacy and the spirit of the Jewish people, endures forever. In this vein, the Book of Psalms,composed and edited by King David is the greatest monument to his life and is still recited by Jews around the world today.

It is for this reason that the Talmud informs us that great Jewish sages were memorialized  through a custom derived from the Book of Jeremiah and King Ezekiel by erecting a house of study in proximity to the gravesite. Our sages understood that transmitting the knowledge of Torah to future generations was the greatest form of memorial. 

Today, this custom has evolved and the Jewish way to leave an enduring legacy is to provide for Torah study and Jewish life for future generations.


Menachem Mendel Bluming, RSK and Chabad.org

Popular posts from this blog

When to be Flexible

There are times to bend like a reed in the wind. And there are times to act as a stubborn wall against the tide. There are matters that lie at the periphery of life. In those situations stubbornness often stands in the way of harmony and peace. Every such “I” is the very root and source of evil. But when it comes to matters that touch the purpose for which you were placed in this world, that’s when you have to be that immovable wall. That’s when you have to say, “On this, I‘m not going to budge.” That “I,” that’s not evil. That‘s an “I” fulfilling the purpose for which you were given an “I.” Menachem Mendel Bluming,  Chabad.org and Rabbi Freeman
Read more

Menachem M. Bluming on Gun Control

In Las Vegas we were stunned once again by another staggering and grotesque mass murder and the resultant anguish for all those whose lives have been destroyed and irrevocably altered. We are left perplexed and wondering what in the world is going on in our country? This kind of vicious mass murder is something we have not seen before, certainly not with the frequency that we see it today. Would you believe that there has been a shooter incident somewhere in the country almost every day this year? In the latest tragedy in Las Vegas the killer doesn't seem to even have had a twisted ideological or religious motive. Just wanton murder. Although law enforcement may be baffled in their search for a motive in this case, A general societal shift may have contributed to the perpetration in these kind of atrocious acts. The most dramatic changes in American society over the past seventy five years has been, not in the technological realm (though superficially it may seem so), ...
Read more

Menachem Bluming Muses: Define Judaism

The Jewish people can best be described as a spiritual family. We are connected by our souls, and every Jew is a part of this invisible web by virtue of our Jewishness. You can either be born into the family or join by choice. But once you are in, you are family, no matter what. If Jews are a family, the Torah is the family rules. It recounts the family history, defines the family identity, and lays out the expectations of how members of the family should behave and the good they can contribute to the world. Some of the Torah is universal, but much of it is about our particular family and its relationships - with our brothers and sisters, our ancestors, our homeland and the Head of the family - G-d. If you break the rules, you are still a member, because family is family. But those who keep the rules keep the family together. Those who reject the rules usually find their children or grandchildren will drift away from the family entirely, not even knowing what they are leaving beh...
Read more