Walk around the National Mall area in downtown Washington and you will see many buildings and memorials built with classic pillars and columns.  The Jewish tradition recalls that same architecture when it reminds us that the world and each community rest on the three pillars of torah (instruction and learning), avodah (service), and gemilut chasadim (deeds of loving kindness). 

A testament to the nimbleness of that tradition is found in the multiple ways that avodah has been interpreted in Jewish history.  The original use of avodah was the way the bible described the sacrificial service in the Jerusalem Temple.  After the Temple’s destruction, avodah described the “service of the heart,” or prayer.  Zionism stressed the need for Jews to be involved in avodah, working the land in service of our people’s survival.  Today, an organization called Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, engages participants in service and community building, inspiring young people to become life long agents for social change and justice rooted in Jewish values.  And we should not forget the many Jewish Americans who sacrificed much in the armed services, defending this country and its values. 

The fall season is an ideal time to walk the Mall, stopping by the many monuments and statues to be inspired by the inscriptions and lives of great Americans who served their community and country.  Below are a few suggested stops, where you may contemplate the site while reflecting on some additional quotes.  What pillars marked these special people?  Which values would you hope to be etched on a column celebrating your life?

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial (http://www.mlkmemorial.org) was finally dedicated, after storms of rain and storms of controversy.  Reflect on the following additional quotes of his call to action: “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which makes the philanthropy necessary.”  “Everyone can be great because anyone can serve!”

On the 2100 block of Constitution Avenue, N.W. sits a bronze statue of Albert Einstein.  His theory of spiritual physics is that “It is every person’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what they take out of it.”  This fits nicely with the Talmud saying “I did not find the world desolate when I arrived… My fathers planted for me before I was born, so I plant for those who come after me.”

As you pass the Ronald Reagan building at 13th Street  and Pennsylvania Avenue, remember his belief that “No matter how big and powerful government gets, and the many services it provides, it can never take the place of volunteers.”  Across the aisle, Bill Clinton continued that thought: “Citizen service is the very American idea that we meet our challenges not as isolated individuals but as members of a true community, with all of us working together.  Our mission is nothing less than to spark a renewed sense of obligation, a new sense of duty, a new sense of service.”

Take a rest stop on the plaza around the Kennedy Center.  Take his challenge to “Ask not what this country can do for you; ask what you can do for this country.”  And it is still true that “Never before has man had such a great capacity to control his own environment, to end hunger, poverty, and disease, to banish illiteracy and human misery.  We have the power to make the best generation of mankind in the history of the world!”

On 10th Street and Massachusetts Avenue sits a life-sized statue of Samuel Gompers, a Jewish cigar maker who emigrated from England and became the leader of the American labor movement.  His words from 1925 should still electrify us today: “The periods of unemployment accompanying depression in the business cycle…present a challenge to all our claims to progress, humanity, and civilization.”  Here is where the legacy of Abraham and Sarah, to do what is equitable and just can jump off the pages of the bible and enter into our lives.

The greatest honor we can pay to these great personalities is to make our lives a memorial to their example and to our collective values and ideals.  Our community weaves together the many values and skills of those who call Jewish Washington home, and three very essential pillars to a thriving future will be service-learning, volunteerism, and philanthropy.  Explore how you can bring more meaning into your life through these activities.  Visit Jconnect’s volunteer page to match your passion to the needs in the community.  Click here for Partnership resources to prepare for your service experience.  What you “plant” this fall and winter will surely “blossom” in the spring, yielding a fruitful life for you and others.