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| יזכור = remember |
I arrived in Beersheba with 36 classmates in mid July and at this point have been living here for nearly 10 months. Yesterday I heard my first siren that was not a drill. Yesterday was Yom Hashoa, Holocaust remembrance day.
According to Jewish law holidays begin at sunset and last until sunset the following day. I realized Yom Hashoa had began when I was studying in my apartment, listening to the radio, and it suddenly dawned on me that they were no longer playing happy, upbeat music. On Yom Hashoa every radio station plays slow, somber music, every TV channels broadcasts either documentaries or discussions relating to the Holocaust. As I was studying for my pathology final I felt too tired to make dinner and too busy to go out to eat so I decided to order pizza. When I went to the dominos website I found that they were closed for Yom Hashoa.
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| “Dear customers, On the eve of Yom Hashoa Dominos will be closed...” |
On Yom Hashoa there are ceremonies throughout the country held at schools, public squares, military bases, etc. I, along with a number of my fellow classmates, attended the Yom Hashoa ceremony at BGU. It was outside in the 90+ degree weather under the scorching sun, yet hundreds of students were there to remember the millions who were “exterminated” during the Holocaust. There were nearly as many students in attendance as there were last month for Purim, which is one of the most fun parties on campus all year. At the ceremony there were speeches, a modern dance piece, a choir that sang two beautiful songs, and six people from the community who told stories of their family members who were killed and those who survived the Holocaust. Each of the six people who shared their family’s story lit a candle in commemoration.
At 10:00 in the morning of Yom Hashoa there is a siren that blares throughout the country, loud enough so that people can hear it where ever they might find themselves at that moment. The siren lasts for two minutes and for those two minutes everything stops. Every person at every ceremony stands in silence. People stop driving in the middle of the highway, get out of their cars, and bow their head in honor of their brothers and sisters who were killed.
Israel was established to be a place of refuge for Jews being persecuted across the world and a state where Jews could feel independent and safe. Today Israel is still such a place and not only for the Jews. Every year On Yom Hashoa Israel remembers those who were not safe where they lived and were forced to endure persecution, murder, and true hatred. - blogger of the month, Baila Litwak
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