May Brings Israel's National Holidays

I don’t have the heart for the string of national holidays coming up for us.

·         Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day, starting at sunset on May 5 – having lived through a modern-day pogrom that I never could have anticipated seeing, knowing that too many of the hostages are still being held in captivity with insufficient food or water and undergoing brutal treatment, I can’t deal with the additional emotional load of this commemoration.

·         Yom HaZikaron – Israel’s Memorial Day, starting at sunset on May 12 – we are adding to the long roster of those who have given their lives in service of their country and I WISH IT WOULD STOP. There are too many innocent people dying because of hostilities between their governing bodies. The last time I visited Har Herzl, I walked up from the bottom and walked through the burial sites of too many soldiers whose dates of death were far too close to their dates of birth. Israelis and Palestinians alike must want nothing more for their children but that they can grow up unafraid and look forward to long, fulfilled lives in safety.

·         Yom HaAtzmaut – Israel’s Independence Day, starting at sunset on May 13 – I grew up with repeated viewings of David Ben Gurion declaring statehood and the young people outside bursting into singing and dancing in utterly joyous celebration. Just going into Independence Hall brings the same tears to my eyes. Why can’t our nation live in peace side-by-side with its neighbors? Why isn’t that better for all of humankind?

Too many tears. Too aghast at what is going on on our college campuses, where young people are being singled out just for the “crime” of being Jewish. Too heartbroken that it is dangerous to wear a magen David or even a ribbon remembering the hostages out in public. When I leave the sanctuary and go out into the world – a grocery store, say, or even to fill my car with gas – I feel compelled to remove my kippah because it just doesn’t feel safe for me to proclaim that I am Jewish right out in public.

So no. I lack the creative energy to observe these holidays and lead others in their commemoration this year.  We will continue to gather in pain and sorrow for all those human beings who lose their lives, day after day, with no end in sight.

לֹא יִשָּׂא גוֹי אֶל גוֹי חֶרֶב לֹא יִלְמְדוּ עוֹד מִלְחָמָה

Nation shall not lift sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. – Isaiah 2:4.