Yom Hazikaron

Today is Yom HaZikaron, The Day of Memory established by the government of Israel to commemorate the soldiers who have lost their lives in defense of the State of Israel.

LET THE MEMORIAL HILL REMEMBER
Let the memorial hill remember instead of me,
that’s what it’s here for. Let the park in-memory-of remember,
let the street that’s-named-for remember,
let the well-known building remember,
let the synagogue that’s named after God remember
let the rolling Torah scroll remember, let the prayer
for the memory of the dead remember. Let the flags remember
those multicolored shrouds of history: the bodies they wrapped
have long since turned to dust. Let the dust remember.
Let the dung remember at the gate. Let the afterbirth remember.
Let the beasts of the field and birds of the heavens eat and remember.
Let all of them remember so that I can rest.
Yehuda Amichai

This animated video is a poignant expression of the individual anguish of a parent for the loss of child in support of the State of Israel.

Carole R. Zawatsky is the CEO of the Washington DCJCC