In Numbers 15:37-41 we read, “The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”

There are many remembrances found in the Bible that we might consider unusual. Among these we could certainly place the command for צִיצִת/tzitzit or “fringes.” These are nothing more than threads affixed to the four corners of garments (צִיצִת עַל־כַּנְפֵי בִגְדֵיהֶם) in order לְמַעַן תִּזְכְּרוּ, “that you may remember.”

This command is recorded following the episode of the ten spies who were sent into the Promised Land to report on the condition of what God had promised. Ten of those spies return with a bad report causing a rebellion against the Lord. Following this incident the Lord institutes a visual reminder, fringes affixed to the front and back of garments, which remind not only the wearer, but also those who see, about the promises of the Lord, as it was His promise and His commandments that the spies failed to remember. As He said, “that you may remember and do all My commandments,” concluding, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” This statement, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,” is found throughout the Hebrew Bible. It serves as a reminder of freedom, responsibility, and remembrance.

Today in the United States of America is a national holiday: Memorial Day. This holiday remembers all those who died in military service to this nation. In the Torah, we find not only reminders of the Lord’s faithfulness affixed to clothing, but He there are also reminders affixed to time, the biblical feasts. The traditional blessings for the appointed times remind us of our deliverance from Egypt, and our redeeming covenant Lord, lest Israel forget. The same is true for Memorial Day. In our day-to-day life we often neglect to remember that the freedom we so freely enjoy was purchased with someone else’s service and life.

We need remembrances in this country of short attention spans. We need antidotes to an ever-increasing self-centeredness. We need to be reminded that the freedom we enjoy, bought by another, is not ours to give away. It must be defended. The defense of freedom is not to be left solely to those in government, but also you and I. We must protect the freedom given to us by Almighty God, or we begin to trample on the very graves of those who gave their lives for it.

Freedom has come to us, but not without enormous sacrifice.  Fathers, sons, mothers, daughters, and friends have given their lives as a testament that man has been endowed by his Creator with unalienable rights, not bestowed by a benevolent government, but by God. Freedom secured by brave men and women from the dawn of our history to the present day, so that liberty might be proclaimed throughout the land (Lev. 25:10).

Dear reader, Memorial Day should cause our children to ask, “What is this day for?”  When they see the flags, the ribbons, and the parades, they should ask, “Why?” Our answer should honor not only the sacrifice that has been given but remind our posterity and us that freedom demands sacrifice, and a continual boldness to defend it.  While we now anticipate the summer that is to come, let us not cease to remember those who gave their everything for us, lest we forget.

A grateful nation remembers, honors, and never forgets. We say, this day, thank you.

Maranatha. Shalom.