麻豆社

From Julia Neuberger, Senior Rabbi at the west London Synagogue:

So the US election is over, bar the shouting, and there鈥檚 celebrations and commiserations all round. It all feels intense right now, but we know that 4 years from now, it will be the same all over again. For that鈥檚 how the cycle works.

This week, we鈥檙e in a different cycle in the UK. Friday is Armistice Day. It鈥檚 Remembrance Sunday this coming Sunday. Last Saturday, my synagogue held its annual Remembrance service. The old soldiers- our oldest participant was 102- read parts of the service, wearing their medals. We read the names of those synagogue members who fell in both World Wars. Many of them. We stand in silence. The bugler plays the Last Post. It鈥檚 incredibly moving. But the numbers attending are decreasing. For the servicemen and women are getting very old now. Some watch online. Others have passed away.

Nevertheless, we will carry on, bringing in children and grandchildren. Unlike elections, this remembrance has to be permanent. It鈥檚 95 years since the Remembrance poppy was invented- by a Frenchwoman- to raise funds for wounded soldiers. As we鈥檝e seen, there are sometimes fierce discussions over whether wearing one is a political statement. At my synagogue, there鈥檚 no doubt- it鈥檚 a symbol of remembrance for those who fell, that we might be free.

For Jews, after World War II, that鈥檚 especially poignant. If Britain had been invaded by Nazi Germany, or, God forbid, we had lost the war, we wouldn鈥檛 be here to tell the tale. So whilst we reflect on the US election, and worry about our own UK politics, let鈥檚 make time to pause to think about something more permanent- our gratitude to those who gave their lives. In Laurence Binyon鈥檚 words, 鈥淎t the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. We will remember them.鈥� We may not know where they fell or eve where they鈥檙e buried. Yet, whilst we remember them, even without knowing their names, we are their memorial. We will remember them.聽聽