Good morning,
Thank you Mayor Jeremy Levi and councillors of the Town of Hampstead for honouring me with the opportunity to share a few words at this important occasion.
As the Mayor explained, we are gathered here today to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect and preserve the Freedoms offered by this great country of Canada.
The Director General earlier said that ‘it is important that we know why we need to remember’. Indeed, why is it important to remember?
There are two levels to the answer.
First, remembering helps us remain grateful and humble. We must understand that what we have didn’t come about of its own accord. It’s important that we know that there are those who came before us who have fought hard, and even given up their very lives, so that we can have the beautiful life of Freedom in Canada. We don’t exist in a vacuum. In this way, we remain grateful and humbled by the blessings we have and never take them for granted.
Second, remembering helps us be inspired. We must be inspired to live up to the Freedoms that have been preserved by those heroes we are gathered here to remember.
What does it mean to ‘live up to Freedom’ and why is Freedom so important? And an even simpler and better question is, what is Freedom?
Here too there are two levels.
First level of Freedom is the Freedom to Choose. To choose how we act out our lives without government or political coercion. The Freedom to choose our Faith, to choose our occupation, to say what we’d like, to travel where we’d like, etc. All of this is afforded to us and protected by this blessed country of Canada.
The second level is the ‘Freedom to Be’. This is a much deeper level. It’s not simply a question of how I act, but a question of who I am. And that’s true Freedom - to be me.
In that case, the great question emerges: who am I? What am I at the core?
Torah has a very deep and empowering insight. The Torah tells us that man is ‘Made in the Image of God’. That is the core and essence of being a Human Being - being Gods representative on earth carrying His Holy Image.
Living in touch and aligned with this core truth is what it means to be truly Free - Free to be Me. This is what it means be inspired by those who died for our Freedom.
How do we live that way? How do we live a life aligned with our true essence of being ‘Made in God’s Image’? Here are two suggestions.
One: begin each day with the following short prayer. In Hebrew it reads
בי שהחזרת וקיים חי מלך לפניך אני מודה .אמונתך רבה ,בחמלה נשמתי
English translation: I thank You, Living and Eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me, Your faithfulness in me is great.
With this prayer we are reminded that every day is a gift from God to be cherished and utilized in manner congruent with His trust in me to carry His Image.
Two: get a hold of one of these charity boxes and begin your day by placing a coin inside like so. This small exercise helps us remember that as a Human Being Made in Gods Image I am not simply a receiver of life, but a giver.
This would be a truly inspired remembrance of those who gave up their lives to persevere our Freedom.
Thank you!
