.
>>> TO HEAL WE MUST REMEMBER
THAT IT’S HARD SOMETIMES TO
REMEMBER BUT THAT’S HOW WE HEAL.
IT’S IMPORTANT TO DO THAT AS A
NATION.
THAT’S WHY WE’RE HERE TODAY,
BETWEEN SUNDOWN AND DUSK LET US
SHINE THE LIGHTS IN THE DARKNESS
ALONG THE SACRED POOL OF
REFLECTION AND REMEMBER ALL WHO
WE LOST.
THOSE 400,000 FELLOW AMERICANS,
MOMS, DADS, HUSBANDS, WIVES,
SONS, DAUGHTERS, FRIENDS,
NEIGHBORS AND CO-WORKERS, WE
WILL HONOR THEM BY BECOMING THE
PEOPLE AND THE NATION WE KNOW WE
CAN AND SHOULD BE.
SO I ASK YOU, LET’S SAY A SILENT
PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO’VE LOST THEIR LIVES AND THOSE LEFT
THEIR LIVES AND THOSE LEFT
BEHIND AND FOR OUR COUNTRY.
AMEN.
>> THAT’S PRESIDENT BIDEN DURING
HIS INAUGURAL ADDRESS ON
WEDNESDAY LEADING A MOMENT OF
SILENT PRAYER FOR THE MORE THAN
400,000 AMERICANS WHO’VE DIED
BECAUSE OF CORONAVIRUS.
BEFORE THAT HE WAS SPEAKING AT
THE VIGIL HE LED EARLIER IN THE
WEEK FOR THOSE VICTIMS.
IN THE UNITED STATES SOMEONE
DIES OF COVID-19 EVERY 26
SECONDS, A STAGGERING DEATH RATE
THAT HAS ENVELOPED THE COUNTRY
WITH PROFOUND GRIEF.
JOINING US IS RABBI STEVE
LEADER, THE FIRST SYNAGOGUE
ESTABLISHED IN THE CITY OF LOS
ANGELES.
HE’S ALSO THE AUTHOR OF THE NEW
BOOK ABOUT HANDLING GRIEF TITLED
"THE BEAUTY OF WHAT REMAINS: HOW
OUR GREATEST FEAR BECOMES OUR
GREATEST GIFT."
RABBI, GOOD MORNING, IT’S GREAT
TO HAVE YOU WITH US IN THIS
NATIONAL MOMENT OF GRIEVING.
WE HADN’T REALLY HAD ONE UNTIL
THAT EVENT ON TUESDAY NIGHT AT
THE STEPS OF THE LINCOLN
MEMORIAL WHEN WE STOPPED
COLLECTIVELY TO THINK ABOUT THE
MORE THAN 400,000 PEOPLE HAVE
DIED.
AND I’M INTERESTED TO HEAR YOUR
VIEW OF GRIEF RIGHT NOW BECAUSE
WE’VE HAD TAKEN FROM US IN
ADDITION TO SO MANY OTHER THINGS
THE RITUALS OF GRIEVING, SAYING
GOOD-BYE AT A BEDSIDE IN A
HOSPITAL.
THAT’S NOW BEEN REPLACED BY FACE
TIME CALLS WITH A LOVED ONE,
FUNERALS YOU CAN’T ASSEMBLE AND
REMEMBER THE PERSON WHO PASSED.
SO WHAT ARE YOU TELLING THE
MEMBERS OF YOUR CONGREGATION
ABOUT GRIEF IN THE AGE OF
CORONAVIRUS?
>> WELL, I THINK THAT GRIEF IN
THE AGE OF CORONAVIRUS DOESN’T
REALLY CHANGE THE NATURE OF
GRIEF BUT IT INTENSIFIES IT AND
I THINK THE FIRST IMPORTANT
THING TO REMEMBER ABOUT GRIEF,
DESPITE WHAT MY GENERATION AND
YOURS WERE TAUGHT ABOUT GRIEF
HAVING STAGES, THAT GRIEF IS A
NON-LINEAR THING.
I SAY IN THE BOOK THAT ANYONE
WHO THINKS THE SHORTEST DISTANCE
BETWEEN TWO POINTS IS A STRAIGHT
LINE DOESN’T UNDERSTAND GRIEF.
GRIEF IS MUCH MORE LIKE WAVES,
AND SO WE HAVE TO APPROACH IT TO
EXTEND THAT METAPHOR AS IF A
MASSIVE WAVE IS COMING AT US AND
WE REALLY HAVE TWO CHOICES.
WHICH IS TO STAND UP AGAINST IT,
TO HOLD OUR GROUND AND SAY I AM
STRONGER AND MORE POWERFUL THAN
THIS WAVE.
AND WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENS
THEN.
WE GET THROWN OVER AND UPSIDE
DOWN AND WE’RE GASPING FOR AIR
AND AFRAID.
AND THE OTHER CHOICE, THE BETTER
CHOICE, IS WHEN YOU HAVE THIS
WAVE OF GRIEF COMING AT YOU, TO
LIE DOWN, LET IT WASH OVER YOU,
FLOAT WITH IT.
JUST FLOAT WITH IT.
UNTIL YOU CAN STAND UP AGAIN.
AND I THINK THAT WHAT THE
PRESIDENT DID FOR US IN THAT
SPEECH WAS GRANT PERMISSION TO
ACKNOWLEDGE THE GRIEF WE’RE
FEELING COLLECTIVELY AS A
COUNTRY, TO LET IT WASH OVER US,
TO SIT WITH US AND FLOAT WITH IT
AND THEN TO KNOW WE’RE GOING TO