Thursday, August 29, 2013

A Tekes and a Snapshot of Israel

My dear brother in law was sworn into his battalion today. He is part of Nahal, and as such, swears in at the Kotel Plaza. Since, as darling wife, his parents live in the US, we went along to be there for him on this momentous occasion in his life.

We arrived late, as we had to meet up with grandmother in law at the Tachana Merkazit and then sit on the 1 bus as it meandered through black and white Jerusalem on its way to the Kotel, where it ran smack into traffic and took 25 minutes to make it from the road around the Old City to Sha'ar Ha'ashpot. By the time we made it, the soldiers were in their "chet" formation (doorway shaped, for those non-Hebrew speakers), the music was playing, and the formation was surrounded (mobbed may be a more accurate term) by family and onlookers. We settled in a few feet behind the throng.

Many people spoke. I wish I knew who, but the emcee spoke too fast for me to make out the individual words. I assume most were commanders, generals, and the like.

Different speakers said different things, but one stood out, to me. He ended his speech to the soldiers with a blessing - he repeated Birkat Kohanim, and Hamalach. His voice was full of emotion; understanding that not all the assembled boys in green are necessarily going to make it home in one piece, and hearing the plaintive plea "yivarechicha HaShem viyishmirecha...ya'er haShem panav eilecha vichuneka...yisa haShem panav eilecha viyasem lecha shalom. Hamalach Hagoel oti mikol ra, yivarech et ha'ne'arim viyikarei bahem sh'mi, u'v'shem avotai Avraham v'Yitzchak...." my eyes teared a little. A secular army, yet so connected, in a visceral way, to the underpinnings of the Jewish enterprise of yore. It is one long story, one in which we all have our part...

Another speaker told the assembled soldiers that they are going to be given two weapons tonight. One was their rifle, and the other, their Tanach. The Tanach, he told them, is where they will learn the history of the Jews, their army, and the incredible prophecy of Yeshaya that has come true, where we have returned to our Land, proud and free. This is why we are here, why sometimes we must fight, and what we are fighting for.

The soldiers then were sworn in, their triplicate cries of "Ani Nishbah" echoing off the walls of the plaza. Then HaTikvah was played, and the crowd and soldiers sang along. I embarrassingly admit I do not know all the words, but when everyone sang "od lo avda tikvateinu..." again I teared; the proverbial man on the street, placing his children on the altar as Avraham did, only in green clothes and a chance he may not come down from that altar free, still sees this in the context of the 2000 years of Exile and the knowledge that we have now returned to our Land, to live as Jews, at last. And following this, as the soldiers received their Tanach and their rifle, they played "Shir Ha'maalot, esah einai..." in its entirety, twice. Each soldier, upon receiving his weapon, heard "Ezri me'im HaShem, oseh shamayim va'aretz". It was beautiful. It truly was.

And, I think, a snapshot of Israel as a whole. For it is far to easy to hide behind newspaper headlines, be they Ha'aretz or the Yated, and snipe at "them". It is easy to think you know how Am Yisrael is supposed to look, pray, act, or be. It is easy to denigrate, to put down, to find fault. But secular or religious, chiloni or dati, man, woman, child, all of Israel (both meanings intended) knows it is their Father in Heaven to Whom they direct their prayers, and in Whose image they walk, and Whose Mission they take part in. They stand as One as such, in knowing that the Nevi'im have spoken Truth, that we follow in their footsteps; that the One G-d is Our G-d, ezreinu me'im HaShem.

The Zohar has a funny sounding drashah it makes on the pasuk of "Mi K'amcha Yisrael goy Echad Ba'Aretz" - it simply sticks in a comma. Mi K'amcha Yisrael, (when? when they are) goy echad Ba'Aretz.

To see this, even if only in caricature form perhaps, is why I cried.

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