Almost immediately after Passover, a holiday celebrating our exodus from slavery and the start of the journey back to our homeland, Israel and the Jewish nation around the world, begin a series of commemorations, ones that turn from joy to tears and from tears to joy.
First comes Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day wherein the murdered and butchered Jews of Europe and North Africa are remembered, mourned, spoken of with love and sorrow. It is a day when the children and grandchildren of survivors can proudly stand and say "we are here", alive and well, and we have our own nation once again. Tears and joy mixed together.
Quickly, Yom Hazikaron arrives. This is a memorial day unlike what we celebrate here in America. While here there are ceremonies, much of the day is spoken of as a day of sales, the beginning of summer. In Israel, it is a day of complete and total mourning. From the night before one is immersed in a nation bleeding from the loss of so many of its citizens, men, women, children, lost through battle, through terror, through massacres, even in their own ancestral lands.
Tuesday night was filled with a sounding of the siren and the TV began its portrayals of the mourned, the stories of the heroes, the reminders that the land and the state of Israel exist because and through the sacrifices of these kedoshim, these holy ones. One watches, glued to the TV or the radio and its sad music, and stays there, as if glued, until there are no more tears left to cry.
At 11 AM there is a siren and an entire nation comes to a standstill, from the pedestrian to the cars, to the truckers, to the stall owners at the open market, to people in their own homes. The day continues in this mood until late afternoon begins a change.
The music gradually eases in key from minor to major. There begins a realization that though many have tried, WE ARE HERE. We are alive in our own state. A Jewish state among the nations of the world. It is a state as are other nations, making both right and wrong decisions, yet is always under attack, by word and action, yet takes upon itself a duty to the world in its destruction of Iranian and Syrian nuclear and chemical weapons.
It is a nation which has taken in literally millions of refugees. Lost remnants of Jews, of all ethnicities and colors, truly a melting pot. The descendants of Anusim, the Jews of Spain, the descendants of wandering tribes from Biblical times, from times of exile - from the four corners of the earth - no longer to be beaten, tormented, hated, slaughtered, but to be citizens of Israel.
I am the same age as Israel and am enjoying the special celebrations of the day. The largest extravaganza will be here this year, performing all over, including many places within the South Florida area. Fairs, games, concerts, laughter, dancing, singing and over and above all - pride and love.
And for the rest of the world who take Israel for granted - do not, for we do not. It is a young state as ages go and it is a state still with growing pains. It has its own internal battles to fight, our own enemies and divisions within, but make no mistake about it - Am Yisroel Chai - the nation of Israel lives - and will continue to do so, for while we argue, while we struggle to find the absolute best way to answer and undo Gordian knots of concern - even as we do this, we all know that we are one, that this state of Israel is ours and to be cherished, valued, and protected all the time.
I am a proud American - well, used to be prouder - but when I fly over the coastline of Israel, when I walk the streets of Jerusalem or the beaches of the coast, beneath the remnants of Roman aqueducts, or talk with the teens who are defending their nation, well, there is a pride here that is beyond words. It is a pride that overwhelms. And it is a pride which still swells the heart every time I sing the national anthem, the Hatikvah, the Hope. After thousands of years, to be a free nation in our own land, a hope that lasted through the pogroms, through the forced conversions, through the burnings in England, in Spain and Portugal, through the chasing of Jews by the Inquisition even into the New World, through the decimations of ancient Judea and to the modern day Nazis and their cursed followers even today - we are here.
Happy Birthday, Israel. We sing and dance along with you today and for all days.
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