The arc of the Jewish calendar this week takes us for quite a journey. On Tuesday, we marked Yom HaZikaron, a day of memory for fallen soldiers in Israel’s history and those killed in terrorist attacks. It’s a somber day in Israel, one marked with a siren stopping everyone in their tracks. It’s a day filled with individual stories of the men and women whose lives were cut too short, and also a day of national, communal story-telling.
Just as Yom HaZikaron ended on Tuesday evening, we transitioned into Yom HaAtzma’ut, a day of celebration and joy. It’s a day of pride in what Israel has meant for the Jewish people, and a day of hope for what we believe she can be for the entire world. Yom HaAtzmaut is one of the most joyful days in Israel. While on Yom HaZikaron we are saddened by the loss of life, on Yom HaAtzmaut we are reminded that we don’t take those lives for granted and we celebrate what they fought for.
This juxtaposition is often hard for me to hold. Moving so quickly from one set of emotions to another doesn’t just feel hard to do, there’s something about it that feels disingenuous. If I were really so distraught about lives lost, how could I move to joy so quickly? If I take Yom HaZikaron seriously, am I really able to enjoy unbridled happiness?
And yet we do it anyway because it’s real, it’s an authentic part of what it means to be human. I think part of the experience of being Jewish is striving to hold all of these emotions, to exist in the duality, at the same time. We aren’t asked to pick one holiday to commemorate or celebrate, we are meant to experience them both in their fullness.
While I don’t think that these modern Israeli holidays were made to map directly onto the Torah reading calendar, I was struck by how much the Torah mirrors this trajectory. Last week, we read the double parashah of Tazria/Metzora, a portion about illness and pain, about isolation and separation from community. This week, we move into Acharei Mot/Kedoshim, first about death, then about ritual, then holiness. Pain, Illness, Death, Ritual, Holiness. The experiential arc here is profound - we don’t ignore one over the other, we are in the wave as we go through each of these moments.
Navigating living in all of these realities is hard. We endure pain and heartbreak; we experience life-giving joy and celebration. We suffer through isolation from community; we learn more about ourselves and what grounds us. We experience huge disappointment; we are elevated with unexpected surprises. We attempt to feel whole, holding all of those moments in one. This week, perhaps more than any other on the Jewish calendar, we are reminded of this task. We are reminded that we are allowed to, that we must, hold these very different realities, that we must inhabit that duality.
Wishing each of you a Shabbat of peace and a Shabbat of love Rabbi Sarit
We will NOT be having services at shul this Shabbat. I hope you will join Abe and me for Hachanah l’Shabbat (Preparing for Shabbat at 6:30PM this evening), and for Havdallah (Saturday at 8:40PM). Click those links to connect on Zoom!
Please check out our website for some Shabbat-related learning resources.
