Six million.
Can we comprehend that number? Can we understand how large it is? How many? How bountiful? How tragic?
In different contexts, a number with seven digits can inspire hope, or horror. In a salary, it can mean the start of a very successful career decision. In baseball, it is watching the Chicago Cubs play 37,037 seasons. In time, it is seventy days worth of seconds. In people, it is a number far too large for our minds to wrap around.
Six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust.
An entire people who had lived for centuries in Europe were virtually wiped out. People, families, villages, generations, histories. In Judaism, taking a life is akin to destroying a generation; six million lives is more than a nation can bear.
On Thursday, April 18th, Israel honored the memory of those who perished and those whose lives were destroyed by the Holocaust. A ceremony was held the previous evening in Jerusalem, at Yad Vashem. Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu spoke about the dangers of ignoring Iran's rhetoric and actions.
I woke up in David and Amy's apartment in Tel Aviv around nine in the morning. I was sitting by the window when, at 10:00 AM, a siren pierced the warm, clear morning. Its shrill call stopped the country. Cars came to a halt. People got out and stood. For two minutes, everyone in Israel bowed their heads and remembered the six million people of our family, our nation, who were killed simply because they were Jewish. A state remembers the story of its people, of its nation.
We say "never again," but we always balk at the implications of pointing out atrocities and calling it a holocaust or genocide. People hide behind these words, choosing to use it out-of-hand to call attention to injustice and death, knowing that what the world witnesses in its darkest places today pales in comparison to Europe sixty years ago. Unfortunately, the responsibility that would ensue after calling the systematic murder and evil intentions in this world a genocide is more than any nation is willing to assume. Let's not kid ourselves: there is evil in this world. However, diligence ends at words and speeches, at world organizations' summits and conferences, at good intentions of common individuals without power and ambitious personal agendas of politicians with power.
Not anymore. Now, there's a way for people to fight back, to take up arms in defense of our fathers and mothers, our brothers and sisters. It's called the Israeli Defense Force. The IDF has made the Jewish nation a people who will not be cowered or intimidated and forced to rely on others for aid.
Now there's a way for every Jew to be a part of this great Jewish army. There's a program called Mahal and young Jewish men and women who want to fight for Israel can join. People like Adam, Shmaya, and Jesse. People from Jersey, Brooklyn, Toronto. Shmuel, Effy, and Eliyahu. Australia, England, South Africa, every corner of the globe.
We come to fight for and defend our right to live.
This is written in such an outstanding and inspiring way, I am glad to have taken the time to read this and come across it. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI plan on making aliyah and enlisting in August.