Listen
up, can you hear the song of our history
The
poetry the mystery the symphony is filling me
To
the point of overflowing intensity
Incredibly
the remedy for entropy is memory
Ten days ago, Jewish teacher and hip-hop artist Eden
Pearlstein—aka Eprhyme—shared these words with us in his extraordinary rap
rendition of the week’s haftarah portion.
Throughout this Pesach holiday, I have continued to reflect on his
teaching, especially his observation in the last line: “the remedy for entropy is memory.”
Entropy is, sadly, a fact of life. Things—and lives and relationships—fall
apart. It takes a lot of love and labor
and energy to sustain goodness and blessing in our world. Death and loss are inevitable parts of even
the best-lived lives.
But memories of liberation and celebration, of times and
people and places that we cherish can help to carry us through our dark, dry
seasons. When we find ourselves in
narrow places, we can recall previous passages out of these “Egypts” and renew
our hope that we will move, again, toward promised lands. And when we despair of our ability to make a
difference in healing the brokenness that so often shatters both our personal
lives and the wider culture, we can remember the kind, righteous, and inspiring
friends and loved ones who did bring that kind of healing, and take sustenance
in their examples.
This coming Shabbat is also the eighth and final day of
Pesach—and thus one of four days that our tradition designates (along with Yom
Kippur and the last days of Sukkot and Shavuot)
for a special Yizkor service, in which we honor our beloved ones who
have died. This week, as you celebrate Passover, make an effort to remember
your special times, places, and people—and in so doing, affirm that the remedy
for entropy really is memory.
