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Torah Portions
Jewish Times and Holidays
Israel Memorial Day
How Can
We Truly Honor Israel's Fallen Soldiers?
By Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
Sadly, Israel's media
and cultural life are controlled by people who have no faith. They are disengaged
from our Nation's past and from its destiny. They have transformed Memorial
Day into "Peace Now Day." Instead of honoring the memory of our fallen soldiers
on this day and recognizing the implications of their self sacrifice on our
national reality -- they disrespectfully portray the soldiers' death as empty
and meaningless. Presenting themselves as mournfully respecting the fallen soldiers,
they tell sad stories about their lives and death. But in truth, there is no
greater insult to the memory of the fallen than the perverse hues with which
the media and Israeli culture have painted Memorial Day. The essential flaw
in their perspective is in their disregard of the national destiny for which
our soldiers gave their lives.
To make Memorial Day truly meaningful,
we must revitalize our lives in memory of our fallen soldiers. When they gave
their lives to sanctify G-d's Name, they proclaimed that our national destiny
is so great that it is even worth dieing for. Their strength empowers us to
continue. The Jewish children that we bring into the world, the new settlements
that we build, the Torah that we learn -- are all theirs. The moral Jewish society
that we aspire to build in Israel is based on the vision of their prophets.
Memorial Day should be a day that gives us strength to continue in the path
of our fallen soldiers -- the path of self-sacrifice in our daily lives for
the Nation of Israel. In this way we truly honor their memory.
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