May Memory Bring Blessings
Prv. 10:7
The power of our words can shape how we remember each other.
Whether Solomon was the one to write these many pithy aphorisms or someone else claiming the fame of the wisest of kings, from this chapter onwards we have long lists of one-liners, often framed as parallels. The contrast, such as wisdom vs. folly, brings us again and again to these forks on the road, binary choices, blessings of curses. Even as we know that life is often more messy and blurry than firm left or right turns there is deep wisdom in this constant reminder to choose wisely and carefully as each choice may be meaningful not only in life - but also after death: How will we be remembered?
The Jewish expression used to talk of the deceased with appreciation and respect has its origins in one of the phrases of today’s chapter. It is a classic case of parallelism:
זֵ֣כֶר צַ֭דִּיק לִבְרָכָ֑ה וְשֵׁ֖ם רְשָׁעִ֣ים יִרְקָֽב׃
The name of a righteous person is invoked in blessing,
But the fame of the wicked rots.
Found on Jewish gravestones for at least a millenia, and referenced in written texts for even longer, the expression “Zichrono L’vracha’ - ‘May this Person’s Memory be a Blessing” is the Hebrew way to honor our dead. It even exists as a two letter shortcut - Z”L.
Reserved for more righteous, saintly and important is the upgrade - the longer expression - direct quote of this verse -- Zecher Tzadik L’vracha. May the Memory of the Righteous be a blessing.
It’s never the living who choose how to be referenced to post-mortem - it’s those who remained alive who make these decisions -- based on who we were while alive. There are several other Hebrew expressions used when we mention the dead - most of them with reverence and hope that the dead are at peace.
But what about the second part of the sentence? What does it mean that the name of those considered wicked - become rot? Perhaps this is an honest human nod to our deep feelings of fury at enemies and those who wishes to harm us - with the power of revenge to go beyond the grave?
A 5th century CE Midrashic text Midrash Genesis Rabbah muses on this verse and cites an actual tradition, perhaps familiar to us:
“Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Anyone who mentions a righteous person and does not pronounce a blessing for them, has violated a positive commandment. What is the source? “The memory of the righteous is for a blessing.” And anyone who mentions a wicked person and does not pronounce a curse for them violates a positive commandment. What is the source? “And the name of the wicked will rot.”
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: The names of the wicked are similar to woven baskets. Just as these baskets, as long as you use them, they are taut, while if you leave them on the ground over time, they slacken, so, too, have you ever, in all your days, heard a person call his child Pharaoh, Sisera, Sennacherib? It is, rather, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Reuben, and Simeon.”
I’m not entirely sure I get the basket reference but I do get that some names live on with reverence and some with contempt. This early text references some of the archenemies of the Jewish people vs. some of the ancestors. Both lists have gotten longer over the centuries.
The difference between blessing and rot may be very personally or nationally subjective. What’s on each of us is to live our lives with the utmost attention to what wisdom wishes us to talk and walk and raise up to our best abilities. What they say about us afterwards - maybe matters, but what matters most is how we spend each living moment, baskets used for blessing, vessels of value, wiser each day.
Curious? Read the rest.
Go Below the Bible Belt. Link in bio. subscribe.
Below the Bible Belt: 929 chapters, 42 months, daily reflections.
Become a free or paid subscriber and join Rabbi Amichai’s 3+ years interactive online quest to question, queer + re-read between the lines of the entire Hebrew Bible. Enjoy daily posts, weekly videos and monthly learning sessions. 2022-2025.
Become a Paid Subscriber? Thank you for your support!
Below the Bible Belt: 929 chapters, 42 months, daily reflections.
Become a free or paid subscriber and join Rabbi Amichai’s 3+ years interactive online quest to question, queer + re-read between the lines of the entire Hebrew Bible. Enjoy daily posts, weekly videos and monthly learning sessions. 2022-2025.
Become a Paid Subscriber? Thank you for your support!
#Proverbs #Mishlei #Proverbs10 #hebrewbible #כתובים #Ketuvim #Hebrewbible #Tanach #929 #משלי #חכמה #labshul #belowthebiblebelt929
#Maymemorybringblessings #ZikaronL’bracha #howtoremeberthedead #restinpeace #Jewishgraves #postmortem #rememberme #peace #prayforpeace #nomorewar #hope #peaceisposible #Wisdom #lifeafterdeath