Yaakov Amidror
צילום: גבי מנשה
Connecting sadness to celebration
Juxtaposition of Memorial Day, Independence Day forces question: Is anything worth dying for?
On the Jewish calendar in Israel there are two types of holiday: The first includes days such as Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Succot and is intensely personal. For three weeks a year, every Jewish person stands before his creator and before himself, to account for his good deeds and bad, as an individual.
The second type of holiday is national. For seven weeks every spring, we celebrate holidays with a distinctly national focus: Pesach, Holocaust Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and concluding with the holiday of Shavuot.
There is no other country in the world that chose to memorializes its fallen soldiers on the eve of its independence day. This was a unique creation of Israel's founding fathers, and in my opinion it was a wise, correct move. Despite the absurd feelings that accompany the sharp switch from heavy mourning to national celebration, there is a deep, well thought-out internal logic to this.
Sacrifice not in vain
On one hand, the combination reminds revelers of the terrible price this country has paid to gain and maintain its independence, a price paid by the dead and the living alike, by bereaved parents, by brothers who lost brothers, by little girls who grew up without fathers.
On the other hand, however, this combination makes clear to our bereaved families that their sacrifices were not in vain: We have an independent country, for the first time in 2,000 years. It is correct to connect our mourning to our celebrations, and the placement of these two days accomplishes this in clear, sharp, and sometimes painful way.
There is also something important here for the future: If we indeed love life, if we want to protect our independence and Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel, our society must be prepared to make painful sacrifices. The price for independence is the lives of soldiers who are willing to fight and die to keep our country free.
Cause and effect
The juxtaposition of these two days creates an unbreakable a solid link of cause and effect. Freedom is an idea worth fighting, and worth dying for. Death is the price of fighting to ensure one's freedom.
Here we encounter the toughest of all questions: Is it all worth it? Is anything worth dying for? There are no easy answers to this question, but history provides some guidance.
When Winston Churchill tried to convince the British government to fight Hitler rather than negotiate with him, despite Britain's admittedly tough position following the capitulation of France, he made a claim that should ring in the heart of any nation that values its freedom: "Nations who fight and lose on the battlefield – return to the stage of history. But those who go like sheep to the slaughter – disappear forever."
This, essentially, is the message of Memorial Day and Independence Day.
Critical issues
In recent years, many people have become accustomed to judging the government's actions in terms of their economic impact. How many tourists cancelled their holidays here? How's the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange doing? These are important issues indeed, but they are not critical.
When we are dealing with the most critical issue of all – when we are dealing with issues of life-and-death, the only measure that is appropriate to use is the country's need to survive and to prosper, to live its life and to protect its character.
If we are called upon to risk our lives to protect these things, that war is a worthwhile one to fight.
The juxtaposition of Memorial Day and Independence Day teaches us all this, and allows us to celebrate – after feeling the searing pain of loss – Israel's many accomplishments during its 58-year history.
Tough questions
And to all those who doubt those accomplishments, or who cannot look past the mistakes that have been made, I suggest a simply experiment: Close your eyes and ask yourselves the following question: Is our position today – as individuals, as a society, as a nation – better than it was in May, 1947, a year before Israel was established?
Do not the accomplishments of the past 58 years vastly out number the expectations of those who weren't so sure, in Israel and abroad, about the wisdom of declaring an independent state at that time? I have no doubt that mistakes have been made, but the answer to these questions remains clear.
Therefore, let us have a meaningful Memorial Day, to be followed, while never forgetting, by a happy Independence Day.
