May Her Memory Be for a Revolution!

 

Ruth Bader Ginsberg z"l.  I made this mask of her a few years ago and I can honestly say that this mask generated more comments and praise than my other masks. A woman admired from afar by so very many of us. The mask sold and now lives in a loving home in California.

Below is a copy of my recent post on my FaceBook page:

I don't write posts on Shabbat or on holidays. Tonight is different. Tonight I have much to say.

We conclude 5780 on too many sad notes.

It was my father's custom to memorialize all the members of my family who perished in the Shoah from Rosh Hashanah through the end of Tishrei. . We don't know when they perished. I continue his tradition and also include my family members who survived but are no longer here. Their names are inscribed with gold ink on black glass "stones.

Tonight I cannot include Ruth Bader Ginsburg among those stones. But I certainly have begun grieving for this monumental woman. How many plagues must we endure? Covid, Fires, Droughts, Hurricanes, and explicit Permission from the leader of our country, to express hatred not only verbally, but also through acts of violence. And now the death of a spectacular jurist and human rights advocate makes the list of enumerated plagues.

Earlier this evening Rabbi Sari Laufer posted this message that I would like to quote: "The traditional Jewish response to hearing of a death is Baruch Dayan Haemet- Blessed is the True Judge, orBlessed is the Judge of Truth." "....A more radical response: May her memory be for a revolution!" My most recent ancestors were denied democracy and it cost them their freedom and their lives (yes, even those who survived....they paid a costly price. Survival doesn't mean good health, and it doesn't mean they were ok. It means, they survived."

Please , please...act on behalf of RBG. Let her legacy of truth, equality, and justice prevail. Get active, vote, encourage others to vote...and deny the powers that be the opportunity to act hastily in the name of "POWER" in order to strip each of us of our own power.

We all must grieve...but you can simultaneously honor her memory and the memory of all who lost their lives because they were denied the opportunity to live their lives without suspicion , hatred, and violence.

I don't think we can reasonably say kaddish for those we love and not act in significant ways to regain and retain true justice.

This is my prayer for this Shabbat and Chag.

May we all be blessed to breathe freely, and be accepted for who we are. May we take action to save our planet putting aside our personal wants and focus more reasonably on our true needs. May we learn to talk out our differences and come together to create a better world for EVERYONE. May 5781 bring us true healing.