The Price

Israel bears an incredible cost for its existence. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the numbers of Israelis whose lives have been lost to war and terrorism is staggering, relative to the size of the country.

This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to go to Har Herzel, one of Israel's military cemeteries, the final resting spot for former heads of state and Herzel himself. As the tour, guided by Pardes Dean David Bernstein, progressed, I couldn't help but feel a greater and great sense of gratitude for those who were entombed around me. As they rest there between the tall pines of the cemetery, Israel continues, striving to build the nation to which their lives were sacrificed.

As we came to the area of the cemetery where more recent fallen are interred, I couldn't help but see myself in their places. I was living in comfort in the United States, playing baseball, going to college, making my own schedule, and preparing for life. These young men and women were taking grenades, rockets, and machine gun fire.

This weekend is memorial day in the United States. For those reading who are living there, please take time to remember and appreciate the fallen. Memorial Day should not be a day of BBQs, parties, and sales. Instead, take a page out of Israel's book and really stop to remember.

Modern Days

The time between Pesach and Shavuot is marked in Israel with four modern holidays. Yom Hashoa, Yom Hazikaron, Yom Haatzmaut, and Yom Yerushalayim. Colloquially, this time of year is called y’mei yamim. The days of days. It has been an incredible experience to watch Israel move from Pesach into these modern celebrations. Israeli flags adorn backpacks, balconies, cars, restaurants, hotels, public buildings, private buildings, and Facebook pages.

Israel has a knack for marking events that are significant in Jewish religious history, and in the modern history of the State. For example, streets are named after important dates and historical figures, from antiquity to modernity. In modernity, the days listed above all recall a watershed event. On both yom Hashoa and yom Hazikaron (twice), the siren is sounded and the country comes to a complete stand-still in order to remember. The chronology of these days is not by accident, culminating in the euphoric celebrations of independence and the realization of a 2000 year dream.

As I was around town Monday night, and again on Tuesday, I couldn’t help but feel an incredible sense of hope. For a day, all of Israel’s problems, internal and external, melted away. None of it mattered. People were genuinely happy and thankful that Israel is surviving as a vibrant and independent Jewish State.