VeTechezenah Eineinu - Yom HaAtzmaut 5769
The most moving speech I ever heard on a Yom HaZikaron was delivered by Rabbi Yamin Goldsmith. It was several years ago when Rabbi Goldsmith said that if you talk about a number in the thousands the concept and subsequently the message get lost. If you talk about an individual life that story of just one life can be taken in. Then it can it can be understood that there are many such stories, many such lives.
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He proceeded to speak about one soldier that he got to know during his time in Tzahal. He got to know this fellow, along with his entire group, starting from the first day of basic training. This young man was a gentle Teimani. Rabbi Goldsmith spoke about how he spoke and looked, how he got an allergic rash from wearing his uniform. He created a vivid picture of a human being. Then he spoke about the tragic loss of this young life, about visiting the family, and about how it felt for him and the other guys in the unit who lost a dear friend. Those of us who heard these words took them in and began to understand the magnitude of such loss multiplied by thousands. o
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Yesterday was Yom HaZikaron, today is Yom HaAtzmaut. We know of the loss of life on a national scale and we know of the birth and sustenance of a country. We know individual stories of loss and of life. o t
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I recall being in sixth grade when my cousin's new husband fought in the Yom Kippur War. I remember the picture she sent us of him davening next to a tank. I remember watching their life together grow, as they were blessed with three children. I remember my cousin Hanni saying over years with a mixture of pride and frustration that Dovid held the record for miluim - reserve service. Thank G-d Dovid is now a grandfather, done with milu'im. Today Hanni has 2 sons in elite divisions of the army. May Hashem protect them and the many more like them with safety, health and the merit to soon see complete redemption.i00
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The following always comes to my mind on Yom HaAtzmaut. A train conductor tells a passenger to move the suitcase that's blocking the isle. He tells him repeatedly, but the guy ignores the conductor. Exasperated the conductor says, "If you don't move your suitcase, I'm going to throw it off the train." The guy doesn't move it, so the conductor throws it out the moving train's window. He asks the passenger, "Are you happy now?" The man replies, "I don't care. It's not my suitcase." lyy
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If we feel that Israel is ours, then we will love her, worry about her, celebrate her. We need to work to recognize and remember that we are intrinsically connected to this holy land. May we be so blessed.Many years ago at a Pidyon HaBen for Dovis (Goobs) Berger's son Rabbi Moshe Chait spoke about hakarat hatov. He showed that true thankfulness is not a matter of owing another person for the good he did for you. He spoke about how people have favorite chairs toward which they have appreciative sentiments. His point was that true appreciation flows as a a natural feeling. This is what we are meant to feel for the land of Israel.
yy'Rav Chait asked why when we bring Bikurim - First Fruits of Israel - we recite the line, "Arami Oveid Avi," which describes how Yaakov was almost snuffed out by Lavan. Rabbi Chait explained that if you really appreciate something you appreciate it back to its roots. So in appreciating the land of Israel we go back to the very beginning of our miraculous salvations from G-d. Similarly, if someone appreciates that his parents brought him into this world he wants to know every detail, starting with how they met.
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Hakarat hatov is translated to mean thankfulness, while the words actually mean seeing/recognizing the good. If you truly see goodness that was done for you, you don't need to be told, "Say thank you," it comes about naturally.
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May we be blessed to appreciate what the land and state of Israel means. May we truly see the good done for us by G-d and man. May we all be blessed today to take a moment to think about how Israel has affected our lives. I know that in so many ways I would not be who I am today if not for Israel. (That's another post...)
posted by rabbi neil fleischmann @ 11:59 AM
3 Comments:
"...May we be blessed to appreciate what the land and state of Israel means. May we truly see the good done for us by G-d and man. May we all be blessed today to take a moment to think about how Israel has affected our lives."
AMEN, AMEN, AMEN!
I would like to read that "other post" when you write it.
And this is a keeper: "If you truly see goodness that was done for you, you don't need to be told, 'Say thank you,' it comes about naturally."
I feel organic appreciation for those who read and get what I write here - those who comment on blog or off, those who don't comment. Thank you.
Pearl - You've been reading and getting what I write for years now. Your picking out that line and writing a triple amen says so much so succinctly and is so meaningful to me. Thank you.
Anne - You are here in this space regularly and your reading and commenting adds a great deal. Your interest in the other post and your picking out of the thesis sentence (which I hope I fulfil in life to some extent but don't always get as right as I hope) means a lot to me.
I will slip a bit of the other post in here:
When I was 12 years old I went to Israel for the first time. My nuclear family took a trip there, ostensibly, in honor of my upcoming Bar Mitzvah in October. It was the first time any of the four of us had travelled to Israel. It was a powerful trip on so many levels, in so many ways; there were so many flavors I tasted and colors I saw that I had never imbibed before. I recall chanting as relatives said goodbye and drove away from the Kings hotel, "I'll be back, I'll be back." I remember reading What's New In Israel, a tourist magazine, that included the following joke. A guy on vacation writes a postcard to his therapist, "Having a wonderful time. Wish you were here to tell me why."
When I was 17 (it was four and a half years later, but years were longer back then) I did return to Israel. It was January of my senior year of high school and we graduated with the option of starting college or going on a half year Israel program. As I was heading out I recall saying, "See you in a few years."
During that half a year 17 year old me decided I wanted to stay in Israel for a long time, and vice versa. My parents wanted me to do college in America. I did it in 3 years, unhappy about it during most of that time. The summer after college I flew to Israel alone on a one way ticket.
I lived and studied in Jerusalem for the next five years. I came back to fulfil a requirement of one year of my ordination program. That year has been extended over 20 times now. I am in the West, but my heart is in the East.
That's the other post in very short form. It opens up the door to yet another post...
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