Honoring Israel: Remembrance Day
“…I earnestly remember Him still…”
Jeremiah 31:20
The Independence of the State of Israel would not be made possible without the sacrifice of those we remember.
At 13, every Jewish boy celebrates his Bar Mitzvah, marking a passage from childhood to maturity. As the boy climbs up the synagogue’s stage to read the Torah portion, he also takes much responsibility upon his shoulders.
At the end of my Bar Mitzva ceremony, amidst the family’s commotion, my mother told me: “Now that you are 13 years old, the responsibility for honoring your grandfather’s memory is yours to keep”.
I didn’t understand what she meant, so I asked. Mom explained to me that my grandfather was a Holocaust survivor. She went on to tell me that Grandpa was aboard the Exodus ship, trying to make Aliah to the Promised Land, after having survived Auschwitz, an extermination camp. Eventually, he was able to immigrate to Israel. “He fought the War of Independence. After two years, he died in action, while defending Jerusalem”, Mom told me. “From now on, it is your duty to keep his memory”, she added.
Part of ‘keeping Grandpa’s memory’ began in my birth, when I was given my middle name, after my grandfather Aharon.
The symbolic part of keeping the memory is visiting the grave, every year, on Remembrance Day honoring the fallen Israeli soldiers. Since then, I’ve been proudly doing just that, till this day. I’ve passed the same responsibility to my two sons, in their Bar Mitzvahs.
Photo: Eran Glazer’s Grandfather, Aharon.
“Going up to the grave” as we say in Hebrew, means visiting the graveyard, praying and. honoring their lives and their sacrifices. But it also symbolizes our belonging to the extended bereaved family of over 25 thousand soldiers who died in combat or in action while defending our right to exist on this Land, the Land of Israel.
Photo: Eran Glazer’s Grandfather’s grave.
Marking Yom HaZikaron
Yom HaZikaron, the Remembrance Day, starts in the evening, at the sound of a siren and with a minute of silence. It goes on through the following day when the bereaved families gather in the military cemeteries, and at the sound of another siren, the ceremonies begin all over Israel. Accounts of legendary battles, and life stories of the heroes are told on TV and radio channels. The atmosphere all over the country is solemn. Special quiet songs are played.
But in the evening, the fine line between this quiet Remembrance Day is slowly crossed to the explosive joy of Independence Day, as it is impossible to celebrate joyfully without honoring the sacrifice. That is why these two National dates are connected this way.
Usually, we’d see fireworks, and hear joyful music at loud volume, a very festive celebration.
But it’s different this year. Since October 7 th , 2023, we’ve buried over 700 soldiers and defense forces personnel, including men and women who served in the Israeli Police. They fell while defending our country from those who try to exterminate us.
But we remember and do not forget that our present and future are built on the sacrifices of those who perished. “A nation that forgets its past has no future” (Winston Churchill).
The State of Israel has lived by the sword since 1948, and our actions to preserve the memory are one of our major cornerstones as a nation.
Without their sacrifice and their families, we have no right to live here. Since the dawn of generations, our enemies have existed to destroy us. Many nations of the world that tried to destroy us no longer exist.
In the name of G-d's promise to Abraham and the journey to the Promised Land, we will continue to fight and live here, where G-d Himself planted us.
Alongside bereavement, a strong, and constantly developing Jewish state has been established here, while maintaining democratic values.
Independence Day
Today, more than ever, we at the National Leadership Center understand the importance of family recovery, when we hold activities for widows and IDF orphans. We have set before ourselves the goal to continue to heal the nation.
On this Independence Day, I pray for IDF soldiers' safety and peace upon Israel.
As the prayer goes, “The One who makes peace on high, He will make peace on us and upon all of Israel. Amen.”
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In the midst of the challenging days of war, the National Leadership Center (NLC) offers a beacon of hope and comfort. Recently, we had the privilege of hosting two groups of over 100 teachers from schools in Jerusalem and Gush Etzion. The groups who visited us found solace in their shared experiences, leaving with a renewed sense of joy that shines in their eyes and echoes in their words after they depart.