Restoring That Which Is Lost

Rabbi Gregory S. Marx

Parshat Ki Tetzei

This past Memorial Day, I read about the recovery of a lost World War I soldier who died more than 100 years ago. He was found in a cemetery beside a large field at the edge of town, on Rue Saint-Denis, just up the street from the old church of St. John the Baptist.

A gravedigger working on another grave uncovered not only the remains of a “doughboy” but also pieces of a helmet, a stretcher, a trench knife and a corroded, unreadable U.S. dog tag.

With this discovery, more than a century after his death on the battlefield, the American Battle Monuments Commission reburied the anonymous soldier in its nearby Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, about 70 miles northeast of Paris, where 6,000 of his comrades already rest.

It was the first burial of an unknown American from World War I in 35 years and comes two years after the country marked the centennial of the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.

One hundred and five years after his death, and after lying in an unknown and unmarked grave, this soldier, yet to be identified, will be buried with full military honors. The grave was marked with the words, “Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But to God.” The soldier was buried with a Purple Heart medal.

I was touched when I read of this honor due to a man who died so long ago. Our Torah portion, Ki Tetzei, teaches us to return that which is lost.

“If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep gone astray, do not ignore it; you must take it back to your peer. If your fellow Israelite does not live near you or you do not know who [the owner] is, you shall bring it home and it shall remain with you until your peer claims it; then you shall give it back. You shall do the same with that person’s ass; you shall do the same with that person’s garment; and so too shall you do with anything that your fellow Israelite loses and you find: you must not remain indifferent.” Deuteronomy 22:1-3].
We can and must do what we can to bring the lost home. In the case of the WWI doughboy, few even knew he was missing. I am sure that his family is long gone. But we still are obligated to bring the lost home even after many years.

I am reminded of a midrash about property long lost in the possession of a Talmudic Rabbi, Pinchas ben Yair. Some workers came to him for a job. They had two measures of barley, which they left with him and then forgot.

Rabbi Pinchas sowed the barley year after year and harvested it and stored it. After seven years, they happened to return to the town. As soon as the rabbi recognized them, he said, “Come take these granaries.” Rabbi Pinchas understood that it may take generations to bring the lost home.

As people of faith, we are reminded to mend that which is broken, heal that which is sick and restore that which is lost. We are a metaphoric lost and found. We are the repository for the lost property of Jews who may not have realized something missing from their lives.
Synagogues are vibrant places of song, community, Shabbat dinners and life cycles. Those who tend to the shuls of the world are blessed to witness such abundant life.

But we are also something else: We are like Pinchas Ben Yair. We hold on to the texts, customs and rituals of our tradition, lovingly caring for them and seeking to keep them in good order until such time as their owners may return.

I like to think of the synagogue as a holder of that which is lost by many of our fellow Jews. We plant the seeds of tradition and water and care for them until a Jew who is lost comes to reclaim it. We restore to them the product of our labor and our watchfulness, knowing fully well that it belongs to them.

I can think of no higher mitzvah.

Rabbi Gregory Marx is the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen. The Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia is proud to provide diverse perspectives on Torah commentary for the Jewish Exponent. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Board of Rabbis.