Memorial Day begins Sunday evening here in this small country on the sunny shores of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Memorial Day in this country is a lot different than Memorial Day in the USA.
In the USA, memories are short. Memorial Day parades are becoming few and far between. Patriotism is out of fashion. Families spend the day at the beach, at the shopping mall and return home for a barbeque.
My first Memorial Day here was a real shocker. Tonight, Sunday, I will be observing my fourth. Let me try to describe it for you:
As the sun sets tonight, thousands of people will stream towards the Andarta (monument) to the fallen sons and daughters of the town. There, we will stand in line and pass a display of the photos and names of all the fallen. Memorial candles are lit everywhere. There are thousands of people milling about. Soon, the memorial Tekes (ceremony) will begin on a central stage. Family members of the fallen make their way to a reserved seating area in front of the stage. The chief Rav (rabbi) of the town delivers opening words, followed by the mayor, then a presentation by some school kids, high school kids read some poems, selected family members speak.
Then the grande finale: The family members rise from their seats and recite Kaddish in unison.
At that moment, in every city and town in this microscopic country of 8,000 sq. miles, the family members of over 22,000 fallen sons and daughters, PLUS the family members of the thousands murdered by terrorists, are all standing and reciting Kaddish in the evening darkness.
The sun rises the next morning. There are 5.5 million people in this country that will observe Memorial Day today. Hundreds of thousands of them travel to the cemeteries. They make their way to the graves of their loved ones. They grieve and they wait in the sun. Then, at 11:00 AM, a sound is heard throughout the land. Air-raid sirens wail simultaneously throughout the country for one minute. It is a minute that is spent reflecting on the sacrifices that enable us to live freely in the land of our forefathers.
The families return home. The sun sets again. Independence Day commences. Fireworks fill the sky. Barbeques are ignited. Freedom is celebrated.
Happy 59th Birthday to this small country on the sunny shores of the Eastern Mediterranean!
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2 comments:
Excellent post and good insight.
However, this is not a "small country" but a huge one, filled with high mountains which provide a large and very spacious area. In other words you can build on all sides so if you would flatten the mountains the buildable area is much bigger than if flat. The sq meterage of the Land is tremendous.
Mr. Joel
Thanks Mr. Joel - sounds like you understand the real estate business well !
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