Page 50 - HaMizrachi #29 Yom HaAtzmaut 2021 USA

THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND MIZRACHI IN THE NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Gael Grunewald

Days of Redemption

n recent years, there has been an ini- communal areivut, respect for elders passed the embers of the Jewish people
tiative to call the 10 days between and devotion on the other – a culture on through the survivors, through tell-
IYom HaShoah and Yom HaAtzmaut that withstood the ultimate tests and ing the stories to future generations.
Aseret Yemei Toda, 10 days of thanksgiv- yet retained its humanity. ה ָ רּוב ְּג ַ ה ְ ו ה ָ אֹו ׁ ּ ש ַ ה םֹוי bursts forth in spring
ing, similar to the Aseret Yemei Teshuva.
Freedom to be G-d’s people on earth. and seeks to express the spontaneous,
In these 10 days, we tread the path our momentary acts of resistance. It shines
forefathers trod from exile to redemp- The State of Israel chose to mark Yom a spotlight on one ghetto, one act of
tion. And just as the Aseret Yemei HaShoah in Nissan, when the Warsaw resistance, one simple kindness, through
Teshuva precede the month of mercy Ghetto uprising began. In contrast, which many years of war become bathed
and forgiveness, so the Aseret Yemei the Chief Rabbinate instituted Yom in eternal light.
Todah begin in the month of freedom. HaShoah on the 10th of Tevet, the Yom
HaKaddish HaKlali, the day for saying It is this same heroism – ה ָ רּוב ְ ג ִּ ב ֶ ׁש ה ָ רּוב ְּג
The Jews have always known how to be Kaddish for those whose date of death – we encounter in the Counting of the
attentive to time: the days of the week, is unknown. Omer. ֹור ְ צִי ת ֶ א ׁש ֵ בֹו ּ כ ַ ה ?רֹו ּ בִּ ג ּוהֶזי ֵ א. The hero
the months of the year and the sea- is the one who fights every morning to
sons of nature. As Rav Kook says, “The be a better person. Jewish heroism is not
Exodus from Egypt will remain forever “” The State of Israel necessarily an outburst of courage. It is
the spring of the whole world.” Until the chose to mark Yom quiet, strong, human (and often super-
Jews left Egypt, the world did not rec- HaShoah in Nissan, human). The more we learn about the
ognize the concept of the liberation of ghettos and extermination camps, the
slaves. In the month of Nissan, freedom when the Warsaw more we are exposed to the depth of
descended into the world. That is why I Ghetto uprising that heroism.
see a direct connection between Seder began. In contrast, The days between Yom HaShoah and
Night and Yom HaAtzmaut. Yom HaAtzmaut – Aseret Yemei Toda –
I would like to share with you an idea the Chief Rabbinate remind us that between Pesach and Yom
I heard from Rabbi Avraham Krieger, instituted Yom HaAtzmaut and what they represent,
Director of the Shem Olam Institute in HaShoah on the Am Yisrael have been forged and shaped
Kfar Haroeh. The same freedom that 10th of Tevet, the through every exile into the strong and
flowed in Jewish blood on the day we proud nation we are today.
left Egypt is the same freedom flowing Yom HaKaddish !הָיּונ ְּ ב ַ ה םִי ָ ל ָ שּורי ִּ ב ה ָ א ָּ ב ַ ה הָנ ׁ ָ ש ְ ל
in Jewish veins today. This is the free- HaKlali, the day for
dom that gave our ancestors strength saying Kaddish for
when our enemies tried to destroy us.
During the Holocaust, we experienced those whose date of
a clash between the Nazi-German civi- death is unknown
lization and our Jewish civilization. On
the one hand enlightened, technological,
philosophical, cultural. On the other, When we speak about the sanctity of
ancient wisdom, longstanding tradition, time, behind these two dates stand two
and a scattered and separated people. worldviews. The 10th of Tevet, in the Gael Grunewald is Deputy Chairman of the
World Zionist Organization and head of its
And then the war exposed an inhumane middle of the dark and cold winter, gives Education Department. He is one of World
monstrousness and barbarism on the expression to the daily heroism of the six Mizrachi’s representatives in the National
one hand, and daily stories of heroism, million murdered for being Jews, who Institutions.

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