April 29, 2025
Sondra Oster Baras
This week is a very special week in Israel. It actually began last Thursday with Holocaust Remembrance Day. With each passing year, there are fewer Holocaust survivors who are still with us. Most of the people who are still alive are in the their 90’s and experienced the Holocaust as children. But their stories continue to inspire us and to remind us of the evils of anti-Semitism.
As I was listening to the stories of these survivors as they were interviewed on television, I could not help thinking how vital it is that we listen to these stories, that we absorb their messages. And not just because we need to remember the evil that was done to our families and our people, to hold their memories sacred. But also because these stories inform our lives today. Despite the fact that Jews had suffered persecution in Europe for centuries, the Jews of the 20th century believed that the modern era ushered in a new reality, that Jews would be accepted as free citizens and that anti-Semitism was a thing of the past. The Holocaust was a shock to so many. Even as the situation worsened and the Jews’ rights were curtailed, they could not believe that they would be murdered in cold blood, just because they were Jews.
Since its inception and before, Israel has been targeted by terrorists, evil monsters whose only desire was to murder Jews. Just before October 7th, Israeli military and political leaders were convinced that Hamas was deterred. While holding no illusions as to the hatred that still permeated Arab society, the belief was that they would not act on their hatred in an extreme way. But they were so wrong.
And that, my friends, is the lesson of the Holocaust that is so vital to us today. Even as we look around the world, we are confronted daily with expressions of hatred, violence and conspiracies to persecute Jews and to obliterate Israel. Whether it’s universities allowing anti-Semitic demonstrations or harboring professors with virulent hatred of Israel and of Jews; whether it’s the UN, the ICC and the ICJ who are prosecuting Israeli leaders for war crimes; whether it’s international leaders, media or even the pope, accusing Israel of genocide — these are all warning signals that we dare not ignore.
Of course, today we have our own country and our own army and we thank God daily that we are no longer at the mercy of Nazis with no one to save us. Today, we can defend ourselves. But we must never become complacent. For the foreseeable future, there will always be people and nations out there who seek to destroy us and we must always be on guard.
Coming out of Holocaust Remembrance Day, we move to the Memorial Day for our Fallen Soldiers and Terror Victims, which will be marked tonight. This is always a sad time in Israel, as we remember the huge sacrifice that so many have made so that we may have our own country, so that we may defend ourselves against our many enemies. But this year, the war is still so fresh. So many of our young men have fallen in battle in the past year and a half. In my own community, nine soldiers and security personnel fell in this terrible war. The community feels connected to this day like never before.
For me, the day has become personal. My own nephew, Amichai Oster, fell on January 1, 2024. For our family, Amichai’s death is with us daily, especially as we try to comfort his parents and siblings, my brother and his family, on their terrible loss. For them, every day is Memorial Day. For the nation, Memorial Day is a time when we salute our soldiers, mourn our loved ones and pray for the final defeat of our enemies. That no more young men shall fall in battle.
And then there is the switch. On Wednesday evening, Memorial Day will end and Israel Independence Day will begin. That morning we will have participated in memorial ceremonies in the cemeteries that dot this precious land. We will visit the families who have lost their loved ones and tell stories of their heroism, recalling their short but special lives. We will weep with these families, our families, and remember the precious soldiers whose lives ended so tragically. We will recite the mourner’s prayer for each fallen soldier, sanctifying God’s name even as we beg Him to stop the slaughter.
And then that evening, we will gather in synagogues and public squares for a festive prayer service, where we will sing praises to G-d for the miracle that is the State of Israel. What a switch! What a roller coaster of emotions the day presents to us. But what anchors us is the understanding that through tragedy and joy, we turn to God. While we may not understand the rhyme or reason as these terrible events take their toll on individual families, we know that there is a reason and that God is in charge. And we surrender to him—in sadness and in joy!
I will dance on Israel Independence Day; I will sing praises to God and I will thank Him for all that He has given us. Even as we face ongoing threats from our many enemies, even as we wonder if Iran will attack, I know that God is there, protecting us, watching over us. He neither slumbers nor sleeps. And we sing together the haunting song that followed millions of Jews into the gas chambers and that remains an emblem of hope for us all: I believe in the coming of Messiah and even though he may tarry, I will continue to wait for him each and every day.
