Standing in Silence

Going to any grocery store these days means you have run the gauntlet of holiday themes.  It was St. Patrick displays for two weeks and now it is Easter.  If you like the marshmallow Peeps, you are in luck.  And, if you want Easter baskets, you have your choice.  

For the Jewish, Passover is coming, April 5-13th.  This is probably the most important reaffirmation of their struggles and survival.  The struggles will always be with Israel to keep their borders safe from the many, many nations that surround it. Survival goes without explanation.

The past will not, cannot be forgotten. Israel is a nation of prayer.  

Yizkor Prayer

May God remember the valiant men and women who braved mortal danger in the days of struggle prior to the establishment of the State of Israel and the soldiers who fell in the wars of Israel.

May the people of Israel cherish them in their memory; let them mourn the splendor of youth, the altruism of valor, the dedication of will, and the dignity of self-sacrifice which came to an end on the battlefield.

May the loyal and courageous heroes of freedom and victory be sealed forever within the hearts of all Israel, in this generation and forevermore.

Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaShoah

Perhaps the most widely recognized commemoration during Yom HaZikaron, as on Yom HaShoah, is the sounding of an air raid siren twice during the course of the day. 

 

During the two-minute blasts, all activity – including traffic on the highways – immediately ceases. People stand in respect for the sacrifice of those who died defending Israel. 

 

The first siren marks the beginning of Yom HaZikaron and the second is sounded prior to the public recitation of prayers in military cemeteries."

Sources of the above information

. Standing silent for honor

David Draiman "Hold on to Memories"

Normally, I don't cut and paste. But these are brave people who lost families and ancestors in that Holocaust. They have more to say than my humble brain could possibly comprehend.  "chag Pesach kasher vesame’ach”  

CHAG PEH-sach kah-SHER ve-sah-MAY-ach)

.Have a happy and rejoicing Passover.