By Rabbi Judith Schindler
Today, Monday, May 5th, Israel celebrates Yom Hazikaron, Israeli Memorial Day. Twice, a siren is sounded through the country as the entire nation comes to a “stand still” in remembrance. Tonight at sundown, begins Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day.
Today, with tears and sorrow, we remember the soldiers who died defending Israel and without whom we would not have a state.
Tonight, with barbecues, picnics, and parties, we turn to celebrating Israel’s 66th birthday.
We mark the distinction between these two days of stark contrast simply by raising the flag from half staff to the top of the flagpole allowing it to wave proudly.
Today, we mourn the 23,169 soldiers who died in Israel’s wars and shudder at the more than 1000 terror attacks in her short history. Nearly every eighteen year old has served in Israel’s army. Nearly every family has been touched by life’s most excruciating loss – the death of a youth.
Tonight and tomorrow, we celebrate our stewardship of the land. We have been faithful partners turning swamps into rich fields, transforming deserts into blossoming farms, and acres of sand into cosmopolitan cities.
Today, we mourn the fact that after six and half decades, we are still fighting for our security and for recognition by our neighbors.
Tonight and tomorrow, we dance in celebration of our success: twelve Israeli Nobel laureates and Israeli inventions that have had a profound impact on the world technologically, medically, agriculturally, environmentally, and economically.
Today, we mourn the lack of peace. We pray that we can be blessed by both finding partners for peace and by being partners for peace.
Tonight, we celebrate that more than six million Jews now live in our homeland in spite of the fact that just seventy years ago six million Jews were tragically stolen from this world through the horrors of the Holocaust
“There is a time to mourn and a time to dance,” says Ecclesiastes.
“There is a time for war and a time for peace,” our sacred text continues.
Our time of struggle has been long and great. May this year be a time for dancing for Israel and for her neighbors.
