Yom Hazikaron
The New Rosh HashanahWednesday, April 17, 2013 by Elli Fischer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Jewish New Year is characterized by an uneasy combination of stock-taking and solemn celebration. Yom Ha’atzma’ut, as the birthday of the Jewish state, is beginning to acquire a similar character.
On SilenceMonday, April 15, 2013 by Anita Shapira | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Eschewing Jewish expressions of mourning, Israel's founding generations shaped a national ethos of silence and self-restraint, which found expression in the words of poet David Shimoni: “Don’t mourn, don’t cry/ at a time like this./ Don’t lower your head,/ Work! Work!”
Editors' Picks
Remembering Israel’s Fallen , Ynet. Today, on Yom Hazikaron, Israel remembers 25,578 fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, including 92 service members and 10 civilians who have been killed over the past year.
The Price of Freedom Eli Ben Shem, Israel Hayom. “On this day, Israel's big bereaved family, of which I am one, enters your homes, meets you up close, looks into your eyes and seeks your gaze.”
Living and Dying for Israel Yishai Fleisher, Jewish Press. “The battalion commander said: ‘The enemy should not see you weeping like babies in front of the cameras, we are an army, and death is a part of it.’ I knew that he was right.”
The Silver Platter Nathan Alterman, eJewish Philanthropy. “Through wondering tears, the people stare./ ‘Who are you, the silent two?’/ And they reply: ‘We are the silver platter/ Upon which the Jewish State was served to you.’” (Poetry)
Remembrance Before Celebration David Hartman, Hartman Institute. “We affirm the dignity of our existence only as we feel the memory of those who are not here with us. We cannot celebrate unless we feel total solidarity with those who came before us.”
Israel's High Holidays Donniel Hartman, eJewish Philanthropy. Once scorned as a representation of the Old Jew's weakness, Yom Hashoah is now as much a Zionist commemoration as Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzma'ut. But is that right?