Arutz Sheva Israel National Radio

A speech delivered before the Prime Minister and other governmental
figures circa 1974, explaining why Remembrance Day was instituted on the
day before Independence Day

In This Article:
1. In Thy Blood, Live!
2. How it Happened: My Role
3. The Three Dimensions
4. The Heroism of the Bereaved
5. Back-to-Back

IN THY BLOOD, LIVE!
If we wanted to define in a few words how Judaism and our Prophets saw the
destiny of the People of Israel, we would simply quote from the words of
Ezekiel (16,6) - words we recite at the Passover Seder, when we reach the
pinnacle of our feeling of national freedom: "I saw you sprawling in your
blood, and I said to you, 'In thy blood, live!'"

In thy blood, live! Our life sprouts from our sacrifices, from the blood,
from the willingness to give of ourselves. The Jewish people has always
been known as Sanctifiers of G-d's Name. This commandment of "I will be
sanctified by the People of Israel before the eyes of many nations," was
always our supreme commandment, the pinnacle of our upliftment.

But for many generations, hundreds of years, we fulfilled this commandment
with nothing sprouting forth from our blood, nothing to show for our
sacrifices. We never merited to see the 'In thy blood, live!' part. We
saw the blood, but not the life that was to have emanated from it. Today,
however, we see both together - the "sprawling in the blood" and the
"life." For this reason, Remembrance Day for the Fallen Soldiers was
placed adjacent to Independence Day.

HOW IT HAPPENED: MY ROLE
The merit of doing this fell in my lot. I would like to recount our
considerations when we first determined the date, in the first year of our
independence, and when we decided when and how to honor and commemorate our holy 'sacrifices.' We first thought of setting Remembrance Day on Lag
BaOmer, the day that historically symbolizes the Bar Kokhba war, and that
which is still celebrated by Jewish children as the day of Jewish strength.
In this way, we thought that we could combine the heroism of our early
ancestors with that of our own children in this generation. But doubts
crept in: Would we not cause harm to the general significance, shrouded in
mystery as it is, of this historic day?

One of the Fast Days, or during the Three Weeks in which we remember the
destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temples, was then proposed. But we
could not accept the fact that the Day of Remembrance would be solely a day
of mourning. It was felt that this day must be more than that: We must
remember, we must grieve, but not only that - it must be a day of mourning,
of majesty, and of vision.

We realized, therefore, that we could not "assign" this day to any existing
holiday. But the first Independence Day was rapidly approaching, and so we
did what we did - without announcing it formally and without setting any
specific format for the day. I went to Voice of Israel studios on the day
before Independence Day and read aloud the Chief of Staff's Daily Military
Order, which he wrote according to my request. And so I became the
narrator and the one who set Remembrance Day on what became its date.

THE THREE DIMENSIONS
When we speak of Remembrance Day, we must speak of three time frames - just
as in the Pesach Haggadah and the Seder. On Passover, we first tell the
story of the past, we "recount to [the] children" the might of G-d and of
Israel. We then turn to the present, as we turn the story of the past into
a lesson of values for the present. We are obligated to translate the
legacy left us by our forefathers into an integral part of our lives today.
Finally, the "song" for the future: the fourth cup of Seder-night wine is
the subject of the "blessing of song," the song that is a great vision for
the future.

These three components must comprise our commemoration of Yom HaZikaron
(Remembrance Day) as well. We must first tell of the heroism and strength
of our sons and fathers. It is a moral imperative not to forget their acts
of valor and self-sacrifice, in order that we not be ungrateful and that we
recognize the tremendous contribution they made on our behalf. We, the
entire nation, owes them this not as mourners, but out of thanks and
recognition.

I recall an incident after the fall of Gush Etzion (in 1948) when a soldier
named Charlap was wounded, was taken to the French Hospital near the Old
City, died there of his wounds, and was buried by the Jordan Legion in the
hospital's yard. I later received special permission to cross the lines to
recover the body. The Jordanians helped me search for the exact burial
site, and then helped me dig, but when we found the body, I did not let
anyone touch it, but rather dealt with it myself. There was a Jordanian
Major there, who said, "I see that you are a Colonel [higher than a Major].
Have you no other job but to deal with bones?!" I responded, "This is the
big difference. Our national life is built upon these bones, they are that
which gave us life. They are our future - the vision of the dry bones."
The appreciation that we have for those who fell is that which gives us
life. The Medrash teaches, "When a person walks along the way, and sees a
cemetery, this is a sign that a city is near." For us, a cemetery is not a
place of ruin and end, but rather a site of life, and is in fact called in
Talmudic literature, "House of Life."

On Yom HaZikaron, then, we must remember first of all the holiness of the
fallen - those who gave all they possibly could for the benefit of the
nation. It is not they who benefit by our remembrance and prayers, but we
ourselves who can be uplifted by remembering them and by standing in
communion with them.

THE HEROISM OF THE BEREAVED

Not only those who fell behaved heroically. Their family members, too, are
more than partners in the bravery - they are those who perpetuate it. I
will recount only a few of the incidents to which I was a personal witness.
I saw a mother who lost her only son standing at his gravesite, crying out
over and over in Yiddish, "Master of the Universe, I hold nothing against
You. You are just, and Your judgments are just!" One father lost two sons
in one day, and he brought them for burial on Chol HaMoed Sukkot. He had
been a rabbi in Morocco, and stood at the double grave wearing white, and
said, "We are forbidden to eulogize today, we are forbidden to cry, but we
are not forbidden to justify G-d's judgment - and so I do that now. I
don't understand the judgment, but it appears that I am wrong and G-d is
right." These are stories of utmost bravery and strength, which we must
gather together and write down - for them to serve as examples for the most
basic values that we wish to teach our youth.

The Jewish nation never immortalized its battlefront heroes. We had many
wars, and many victories, but where are the holidays to celebrate Joshua'
victories? Or those of King David? Even Chanuka is remembered more as a
day of Divine miracles than of physical strength. But spiritual values -
these we must write down and remember, and in this way, perpetuate our
heroes.

Time is ephemeral, but it can be translated into eternal values. If the
nation is educated in the light of these values, there will no longer be a
need for a Remembrance Day.

BACK-TO-BACK

The juxtaposition of Remembrance Day and Independence Day is alluded to in
the words of the Prophet Jeremiah (31, 12): "I will turn their mourning
into joy, and I will give them comfort, and gladden them from their
sorrow." The "sounds of joy" are not absolute; in the Scriptures, joy
always follows sadness and mourning. Independence Day, too, must be
connected with sadness, with mourning, with sacrifices, and with the
blood-drenched history of the Jewish people.

All this expresses our vision of the third Redemption of the Jewish nation.
We must imbue in our people the values that our Prophets attached to the
national existence of the vision. We must not suffice only with its
physical materialization. This our task. I hope that we have not erred in
setting Remembrance Day adjacent to Independence Day. This is our symbol -
from sadness to joy, and with this we will go further.

* * * * * * *

Israel's Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren, who died in 1994, was Chief Rabbi of the
Israel Defense Forces. He took part in the liberation of the Temple Mount,
the Machpelah Cave, and other holy sites in 1967.