Yom HaZikaron

I am not the person to write about this, really. Check out Baila (22,570*), A Soldier's Mother, and of course Jameel, who will have many other good reads.

* The number of soldiers and terror victims the State of Israel has lost since its creation.

Yehi zichrum baruch.

I've always appreciated the wisdom in the State's having Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha'atzma'ut back to back, which allows for a nechama of sorts, as Treppenwitz put it:

Today is Yom Hazikaron (memorial day for Israel’s fallen soldiers) and tomorrow night begins Yom Ha’atzma'ut (Independence day).

The back-to-back proximity of these two days is intentional. It forces the mourners of the former (there are almost no families that have not lost a member or close friend) to recognize that their loss helped make the latter possible. Likewise, it forces the celebrants of the latter to understand the staggering price paid by the mourners of former.

In a couple of hours, the festivities will be beginning. Happy 61st birthday, Israel. May it put us on the path toward a full geula.