Heart Piercing Unity 21/4/09

Today is Yom Hashoah Ve’Hagevura (Holocaust Remembrance Day). The way Israel marks today as well as Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers (next week) is by the sounding of an air raid siren simultaneously across the whole country. Everything and Everyone stops and stands at attention during the siren in a moment of non-silence. The sound of the siren fills you in a similar way that I feel the shofar does. When you stand at attention and let the sound pierce your heart and mind it forces you to take a deep breath and really think about things. It is not a sound that one can ignore. This morning I had the privilege of being at home during the siren where I have a view of part of the Bar Ilan campus as well as Highway 4 which is one of Israel’s main North/South routes. I was almost afraid that people wouldn’t stop and respect the siren on the highway, but my worry was proven unfounded. Huge semi-trailers grounded to a halt, people got out of their cars, and people everywhere just stood at attention. Only in Israel could the entire country bind together for an entire minute and a half of complete unity and complete understanding of why there is a need to take time to remember in the first place. Being able to experience that unity so strikingly brings me to tears every time. I don’t think I would be willing to give up this remarkable place for anything.