Israel: Remembrance to Independence

In a space of 48 hours, the State of Israel moves from Yom haZikaron to Yom haAtzmaut, from the memory of the fallen soldiers who sacrificed their lives in service to their country to the celebration of independence.  There are tragic linkages between these two observances.  Many soldiers gave their lives in order that the newly declared State could come into being in the War of Independence.  Many more soldiers gave their lives so that the State could continue to exist for the past 63 years. 

In the transition from one observance to the next we feel overtones of the Passover Exodus story.  Generations of Israelites suffered and persevered oppression in Egypt until the generation that went free.  The Passover holiday was to be the celebration of that freedom, a freedom that came with the accumulation of millions of drops of salty tears over time.  Israel moves from "yagon" to "simcha", from sadness to celebration, just as the Jewish people tell the Passover story that moves from suffering to peace, from oppression to freedom, and, as we have it in the Haggadah, stories of great sadness to messages of hope, happiness, and redemption.

Although we will not march in recognition of Israel until June 5th, the day of the annual Israel Day Parade, we can today recognize the miracle and amazing achievement of the modern State of Israel:  the revival and flourishing of Hebrew language, the ingathering of Jews from so many countries where they lost their freedom or identity, the high level of entrepeneurship and inventiveness of Israeli thinkers and businesspeople, the humanitarian outreach that Israel has extended to areas around the world in crisis, the existence of a viable democratic government in a region where authoritarianism and theocracy are common, the tenacity of the Israel Defense Forces in their ongoing missions, the building up and revitalizing of the Holy Land from the Negev to the forests and beyond...

On Israel's Independence Day, what brings each of us pride in Israel?  How can we share that pride?  What are our hopes for Israel's future? 

May it be a future that is blessed and that brings blessings to all of us and to the world.  Amen.