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Apr 15, 2013
Another purpose to standing silent at the siren
A Breslaver rav has come up with an interesting idea he is promoting for today, Yom Ha'Zikaron.
Rav Mota Frank has realized that for two minutes, at 11 AM today, in about half an hour from now, just about the entire country will be standing still and silent for two minutes. In Rav Frank's eyes that means that for two minutes nobody will be speaking hatred about anyone else, no one will be speaking lashon ha'ra, nobody will be saying mean or negative things. No lies, no friction, no arguments, no blasphemy, no foul language. For two whole minutes!
Rav Frank wants to take advantage of those 2 amazing minutes, coming up soon, and turn them into a silent cry to Hashem to hasten the final redemption.
Doing this, he says, will have 1 million people unified for two minutes in a mass prayer! This will have the power to go all the way up to the heights of heaven.
Rav Frank adds in his message for those concerned about standing silently during the siren that there is nothing to be concerned about. Many rabbonim even in the Haredi community have paskened that it is not chukat ha'goyim to stand silently during the siren. The prohibition for doing something that might be like the goyim is only when there is no purpose in doing it. Standing silent has a purpose, and that is:
What a beautiful idea, at least for anyone who does not want to participate in the secular/State commemoration, at least they now have a positive religious ideal as well - stand silent for two minutes and daven for the redemption!
Rav Mota Frank has realized that for two minutes, at 11 AM today, in about half an hour from now, just about the entire country will be standing still and silent for two minutes. In Rav Frank's eyes that means that for two minutes nobody will be speaking hatred about anyone else, no one will be speaking lashon ha'ra, nobody will be saying mean or negative things. No lies, no friction, no arguments, no blasphemy, no foul language. For two whole minutes!
Rav Frank wants to take advantage of those 2 amazing minutes, coming up soon, and turn them into a silent cry to Hashem to hasten the final redemption.
Doing this, he says, will have 1 million people unified for two minutes in a mass prayer! This will have the power to go all the way up to the heights of heaven.
Rav Frank adds in his message for those concerned about standing silently during the siren that there is nothing to be concerned about. Many rabbonim even in the Haredi community have paskened that it is not chukat ha'goyim to stand silently during the siren. The prohibition for doing something that might be like the goyim is only when there is no purpose in doing it. Standing silent has a purpose, and that is:
- to burn the memory of the fallen into the memory and consciousness of everyone
- to be aware of their deaths and to unite with their memories and turn their deaths into a merit so their merit should be a merit for us forever.
What a beautiful idea, at least for anyone who does not want to participate in the secular/State commemoration, at least they now have a positive religious ideal as well - stand silent for two minutes and daven for the redemption!
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I believe the sirens are at 11, not 10.
ReplyDeleteyou are correct. I fixed it. thanks
DeleteWell, Rav Frank makes some good points.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great idea, but I don't understand what the innovation is. Many people have been doing this for years, and we are seeing the awareness grow to exploit those dead minutes to pray, or read mishnayot. The moment of silence is nice, but when it is just that, silence, then it is simply some sort of 'statement' on one hand, and for many, time wasted while they think about something irrelevant to the subject, but I do not disregard the many who use the minute for true hakarat hatov and memory and the many who at least try to use the time but frankly do not know how.
ReplyDeleteI get the impression that while there is a fair amount of rhetoric out there about chukat hagoyim, most ordinary people feel more comfortable pausing out of respect and consideration.
ReplyDelete