The Hebrew language is not famous for its curse words. There is one, however, emach she\’mo, meaning, \”may his name be erased.\”
In our tradition, it is a horrible curse to be erased from human memory. For example, Hitler, emach she\’mo: Even as we remember him, we remember to forget him. Those who evoke our most horrible memories are those who most deserve to be forgotten.
Even for Israelis hardened by years of dealing with Palestinian terrorism, the death of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon came as a
difficult blow.
The groundswell of emotion in response to Ilan Ramon\’s death has not only been a great inspiration for American Jews, it also has helped strengthen the bond Americans feel for Israel.
\”It\’s a state of mourning for the whole nation. Our school is no different,\” said Joseph \”J.P.\” Schwarcz, 18, a Yeshiva University freshmanin New York.
At the same time, Schwarcz was quick to note the distinct status of Israel\’s representative on board, Ramon, as a role model for Jews.
\”Throughout the whole week, our deans have come into our class and discussed with us how we should be just like Ilan Ramon,\” he said.
In mourning the tragic flight of the whole Columbia crew, Jews across America are especially touched by the loss of Ramon. Whether Jews saw him as pioneer or peacemaker, most saw him as the best of the Jewish people.
His face peered out this week from every television set in the United States. It was impossible to escape him. It was impossible to stop looking at him. My heart ached, a real heartache. This time, I couldn\’t stop the tears.
Even I\’m allowed. So what if I\’m a cynical journalist who, in a career spanning over 30 years, covered wars, earthquakes, terrorist attacks and grieving families? I always tried to block emotions and hide behind my mask of professionalism.
Last Saturday morning, the mask broke.
State Department officials in recent weeks have quietly urged their European counterparts to take preemptive action to prevent new
anti-Semitic attacks in the wake of a United States-led military action against Iraq.
First it was then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Next it was Gen. Wesley Clark, the supreme allied commander of NATO during the war in Kosovo. Now it\’s Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry whose Jewish roots are being reported.
Kerry? The Massachusetts senator, the quintessential WASP-y looking politician with an Irish-sounding name?
Yup.
Two of Kerry\’s grandparents were Jewish, it turns out.
On the left side of the mechitza at the Happy Minyan on Pico Boulevard, the men put their hands on each other\’s shoulders, Chasidic conga-line style, and start tramping around in a circle; on the other side, the women hold hands, but remain stationary, bobbing their knees to the tune and
occasionally clapping.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.