By: Michelle Ruby
Director of Israeli Teen Emissaries & Education
The Jewish calendar is very challenging sometimes. For instance, we have back-to-back holidays in the fall and nothing in November, or we just finished a week of Passover that led us right into Shabbat, leaving only enough time to make challah before candle lighting. This week is also difficult. On Monday night, we began the observance of Yom HaShoah, and next Monday, we remember Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terrorist attacks.
My work with Israelis over the last seven years has definitely changed my perspective on these weeks, and I wanted to just share a few questions as we take a break from these days of grief for Shabbat.
- How are we honoring the memory of Holocaust victims? As the survivors become fewer, our responsibility becomes greater. In what way are we passing their stories to the generation that will not hear first-hand testimony?
- Yom HaZikaron is often equated with Memorial Day, but the reality is that they couldn’t be more opposite. Yom HaZikaron—the National Day of Remembrance—is marked by sirens, ceremonies, visits to graves, and stories of loved ones lost in service to their country. How do we honor them and appreciate what they have given for us to call Israel our home?
The other day I heard a quote that is sticking with me: “Grief never gets lighter; we just get used to carrying the weight.” I think maybe that is what the calendar is trying to tell us this week. It’s hard to sometimes move from the constant rush, and it’s hard to stop and reflect on the pain and tragedy, but it’s something we have to do, and we have to practice doing, year after year.
Please email Michelle Ruby at mruby@jewishcolorado.org with questions or comments.