In Search of Meaning

This time of year, back in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood, I'd be making it to my first Cubs game of the year to cheer on a bunch of overpaid athletes and overpay for a beer. As one big step in part of a lifetime search for meaning, I made aliyah a year and 9+ months ago.

This evening, I attended an event that easily trumps some ballgame--the state opening ceremony for Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day 2010/יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה תש"ע/Yom Ha'Zicaron La'Shoah U'la'gvura.

About a month and a half back, I took part in the phenomenal Melabev's Institute for the Study of Aging Geriatric Study Tour (full, belated re-cap of the tour to come soon). The tour commenced at Yad VaShem, where we had the incredible honor to hear from a remarkable, pure-hearted survivor named Eliezer Ayalon, among other speakers. He lit the first of six torches at this year's ceremony. Thanks to Eliezer, I was able to take part in this powerful event, along with dear friend and roommate Josh (the picture above is outside of Yad VaShem). Here is Eliezer's story from Yad VaShem's feature on the torch lighters, and here is video coverage of the torch lighters and their stories. What wasn't included in the video was that Eliezer was totally silent about his heartbreaking Shoah experiences for 37 years before opening up. A significant factor in that decision was his attendance of the first worldwide gathering of survivors in Jerusalem in 1981, at which Elie Wiesel urged survivors to bear witness to the horrors of the Shoah. As you can see from his energy, he never lost hope, and yearning for Zion played a large part--Jerusalem was always on his parents' lips. I don't know about you, but his book "A Cup of Honey" is now a must-read on my book list.

My heart didn't just sink, but rather crashed, as the fifth torch lighter, Baruch Shub, fell to the ground before lighting his torch. The immediate thought, especially in light of Gerontology courses I'm taking such as Pathophysiology of the elderly, was of future such ceremonies. Shub and all of the survivors had to stand for quite a long time during this portion of the ceremony. At some point (hopefully not for decades), as the survivors continue to age, Yad VaShem won't be able to find any who will be able to spend that much time out of a wheelchair. Shub sat down momentarily, but very quickly and proudly stood back up. This physical piece is just another aspect of the fact that we hear time and again--we must hear survivors' stories before all the witnesses of Nazi horror have passed.

Here is more video coverage of the event. The way he exposed his heart for all to see, you would never in a million years be able to guess that Cantor Asher Hainowitz (from 6:06) sings El Maleh Rahamim every year at this event.

To take part in an event and sing Ha'Tikvah (the national anthem) along with Israel's Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres (both of whom gave stellar speeches), Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Governor of the Bank of Israel Stanley Fischer and countless others was simply incredible. To add to the gravity of the event, Josh was to my right, but I was surrounded on all three other sides by Israel Defense Forces soldiers. Rabbi Israel Meir Lau lit the separate, tall memorial torch 65 years to the day after his liberation from Buchenwald. Netanyahu recalled attending the anniversary of the liberation of Auchwitz in -15 Celsius weather, which didn't come close to the 1944-1945 winter and its incomprehensibly low temperatures of -30 to -35. His three lessons of the Holocaust: בצע את כוחך, חנך לטוב, ויילחם ברע: Use your strength, educate for the greater good and fight evil. As usual, his eloquence came through when he labeled anti-Semitism as אש השנאה החדשה הישנה: the new-old flame of hatred. And my new Hebrew word for the night: נחוש/nachush/determined. Whatever my challenges are, if I face them with 1/100th the determination of survivors who escaped the clutches of death, only to give their all in the War of Independence and founding of the State of Israel, I can and will conquer the world!

On the Jerusalem Post's home page, there are three great minutes of coverage--click on the video "Holocaust Memorial focus...", but watch it soon, as it will get cycled out of the top videos soon. Included is a look at Hannah Gofrit's book, "I Wanted to Fly Like a Butterfly," in addition to highlights of Netanyahu's and Peres's speeches. And if the video's not working for you, here's the Post's article on the ceremony.

Here's a nice piece about a collection of 1.5 million buttons for Yom Ha'Shoah.

It's a tough pill to swallow that at this ceremony, as we have been saying for too many years, the threat of a new Holocaust borne by Iran was central to the speeches and thoughts of all in attendance. Here's an extremely harsh call for more immediate action.

As for a personal update, my third Pesach in and around Jerusalem was just incredible yet again. I made it to the beautiful new Hurva synagogue for mincha/afternoon services on the first day of Pesach.

Last Thursday night, a great group of my incredible friends came out to celebrate my Hebrew birthday.

Friday night I was thrilled to play honorary uncle at Chicago friends' the Burstyns' beautiful baby boy's shalom zachar.

Here's yet another look at Palestinian incitement. And here's some interesting analysis of media coverage of the recent State Department denunciation of the Palestinian Authority.

Here's a great interview with my Rabbi Asher Lopatin about his plans for aliyah and building a new community of olim in Israel.

And to end on a humorous note, if you haven't seen the Simpsons go to Israel episode, it's a must--an absolute riot!

Time to crash now and keep working away for school tomorrow. Have a meaningful Yom Ha'Shoah. Love,
אריק/Eric