Rabbi Chaim Weiner
Iyar 5786
This year, I spent Yom Ha’atzmaut in Israel. This wasn’t a new experience. I grew up in Israel and have lived there for many years. But this year, having come from the UK and been deeply involved in my community at NNLS in London, I was acutely aware of how different life seems in the two countries. I want to share three reflections on those differences.
This year the celebrations were in the shadow of the October 7th attacks, the years of fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, and particularly the war in the Persian Gulf. This has had a profound impact on both communities. On the Shabbat before I left London, I had multiple conversations with members of our community. Almost every conversation was related to what was going on. Every conversation followed the same pattern: a discussion of what was happening, a sharing of views and an assessment that, although we have been through difficult times in the past, this time it feels different. The words that repeated themselves over and over were ‘it has never been so bad’.
It was with these words in my mind that I arrived in Israel. On the first Shabbat, in our other community and home in Zichron Ya’akov, I was somewhat shocked to hear the Rabbi give a sermon that could be summarised as: ‘although this has been a very difficult time, in many respects, things have never been better!’
Objectively, it is possible to understand both of those sentiments. We are living in a time of great uncertainty, of realignment and of profound change. There are huge challenges; our security feels threatened. Israel has been through many wars, the most recent sending people to bomb shelters several times each day. At the same time, Iran, a huge regional threat, has never been weaker; Hizballah and Hamas have been weakened, and the sense that we might be annihilated in a nuclear war tomorrow has been removed for the foreseeable future. In Israel, in spite of the difficulties (of which there are many), there is a basic optimism which underpins the resilience of Israeli society. This is inspiring. The Jewish community in the UK has a lot to learn.
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A few days later, it was Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for its fallen soldiers. It is always a sad day, and particularly poignant this year, in which so many soldiers have fallen and when there have been so many civilian casualties of both terror and war. We opted to join friends in supporting bereaved families for an evening of readings and song.
When I was younger, Yom Ha’Zikaron was marked by military ceremonies and speeches that talked of the necessity of the sacrifices made. Today, commemoration is very personal; small gatherings of families and friends focusing on individual soldiers; their lives, their dreams cut short, their sacrifice. There is a recent custom among soldiers going to war of writing goodbye letters to their families and loved ones to be opened in the event that they do not return. The content of these letters forms the heart of these commemorations.
These letters are both heart-wrenching and inspiring. The soldiers talk of their love for their country, the historic significance of the return to Zion, and their willingness to sacrifice to keep their families and their people safe. Sacrifice, country and community are still potent forces in Israeli society. These are all sentiments that you would be hard-pressed to find expressed in the UK today.
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On Yom Ha’atzmaut itself, we chose to go to festive holiday prayers in a nearby community called Liba Ba’i ליבא בעי – an educational institution that puts ‘meaningful prayer’ at the heart of its religious life. It’s known for its special holiday prayers, and particularly for the musical Hallel service on Yom Ha’atzmaut. The prayer was amazing. A four-piece band accompanied the service (actually, the number fluctuated as people spontaneously joined and left the ensemble), along with unrestrained singing and dancing and an energy hard to describe. Later, there would be time for nature walks, barbecues, kids’ shows, and gatherings, the international Bible quiz, and the many activities Israelis engage in on Yom Ha’atzmaut. But first and foremost, it was a day for unbridled joy.
In England, we are ambivalent about Yom Ha’atzmaut. In this corner of Israel, they are not unaware of the problems. But they have not lost sight of the miracle either. Of the fact that a few short years after the greatest calamity that befell the Jewish people, we have returned home. And, in spite of all the difficulties, the Jewish homeland is something we must never take for granted.
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These are challenging times. The events of the past few years have shaken our core sense of security. Jews across the world feel threatened in a way that we thought had passed from the world. These events have highlighted profound differences between Israel and the Jewish diaspora.
At the same time, as Iran-funded terrorists target Jewish communities across the UK, we are reminded of our shared destiny and how much we are reliant on each other. Facing these challenges, we are aware that we have much to learn from each other. Facing these challenges, we need to remember that we are one people and, as such, always stronger together.
Rabbi Chaim Weiner
Iyar 5786
