Reflections on Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut

Dear Holy Friends, 

According to urban legend, there is an old parenting quip that reads, “We spend the first year of our children’s lives teaching them to walk, the second year teaching them to talk, and the next 16 years teaching them to sit down and be quiet.”

As humorous as that saying may be, we can all likely agree that such an approach is antithetical to progressive education in any credible manifestation. In fact, it is the exact opposite that we expect from our students here at The Leffell School. 

Each day students are encouraged to be active and vocal participants; whether analyzing Macbeth, deciphering geometry, or examining a Talmudic dispute. The buzz of ideas rephrased, nuances noticed, and solutions discovered, is the hallmark of our educational endeavor. 

Nonetheless, long before Paul Simon appeared on the music scene, the ancient words of our wisdom literature, from the prophet Ecclesiastes, teach that “A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven.” (Eccl.3:1). This week has highlighted that there is a time for silence and a time for speaking or soundעֵ֥ת לַחֲשׁ֖וֹת וְעֵ֥ת לְדַבֵּֽר׃׃ (Eccl. 3:7).

As you know the Jewish world recently marked the two significant days of Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Remembrance Day) and Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day). Students participated in a plethora of programs and strategized sessions intended to draw them ever closer to our beloved homeland in the face of ongoing challenges that, we as a people, continue to face. 

On Monday, Yom HaZikaron’s impactful ceremony, organized once again by our beloved Rav Z., and enhanced by personally shared stories of profound loss, pulled at the heartstrings of Leffell’s assembled kehilah. Hushed students, somber quietude, the sounds of silent contemplation, and many moments of meaningful reflection permeated the building as we silently recalled over 25,000 Israeli military personnel who have died in the ongoing struggle to protect our bequeathed Divine gift of the Holy Land. 

In contrast, to be present in the gym at the concluding session of Tuesday’s Yom HaAtzmaut celebration, was to be engulfed by the welcomed cacophony of campus commotion. After running from  session to session, our gathering concluded with student-led introductions to featured songs (in both Hebrew and English), class roster renditions of Israeli melodies, and dynamic, dizzying dance and jubilation. It was, in every sense of the word, a “moving” and delightful experience.

Yet, only fourteen hours later, it pains me to say that for the 223rd consecutive day, we began the morning with an announcement asking those present to halt, inaudibly, as we invoked the pleading words of the Acheinu prayer. Caught between the silence of intention and the sound of yearning we collectively continued pleading for the return of our hostages and the protection of our brothers and sisters defending Eretz Yisrael.

Oscillation between sounds & silence, reflection & celebration is intrinsic to our Jewish Journey. We give thanks everyday to our students, who – this year in particular – have navigated this challenge with dignity, hope, purpose, and strength. 

May their silences always be imbued with meaning, and may the time come soon, that the days of all of our brothers and sisters, be boosted by the comforting embrace of peace, security, harmony, and, most importantly, Shalom Al Yisrael. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Eric L. Wasser, EdD.