Crossing the Jordan: April holidays and happenings

Three important holidays in the nation of Israel took place during April.

The first one began at sundown on Sunday, April 11th--Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) in Hebrew. Yom HaShoah was actually inaugurated in 1951 by then Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. The day of mourning officially begins with a state ceremony at the Warsaw Ghetto Plaza at Yad Vashem (Israel's Holocaust museum). During this ceremony, a national flag is lowered to half-mast, and flags throughout the country remained at half mast all day Monday. At 10:00am on Monday morning, air raid sirens sounded for two minutes. During these two minutes, everything and everyone in the country stopped to remember those who were killed in the Holocaust, as well as family members still affected today by those cruel and horrible events. This includes cars on the highways--basically, the entire country comes to a complete stop while the sirens wail.

At Christ Church, those who were able gathered in the dining room at 10 on Monday morning to light candles and observe the two minutes of silence. After that, Paul read from the book of Isaiah, the shema was sung, and prayers were said. The candles remained lit the rest of the day as a reminder.

The next Sunday evening (April 18th), Israel's Memorial Day began (Yom Hazikaron). This is also a solemn national holiday meant to remember soldiers killed in the line of duty as well as civilians killed by acts of terrorism. This year, the country remembered 22,684 soldiers and 2,431 civilian victims (according to wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Hazikaron). The day begins at sunset, and the first of two sirens sounds at 8:00pm for one minute. Cars, pedestrians, buses, etc all stop for this moment to mourn those who have lost their lives in Israel's struggle for freedom. The official ceremony to mark the beginning of this day takes place at the Western Wall, and flags are again lowered to half mast.

The sirens sound again at 11:00am the next morning. They wail for two minutes and mark the beginning of official memorial ceremonies as well as private gatherings held simultaneously at all the cemeteries where fallen soldiers are buried. The day officially ends sometime between 7-8pm, in an official Israel Memorial Day service on Mount Herzl, after which the flag is returned to full staff.

Interestingly, as Israel's Memorial Day comes to a close, Independence Day begins (Yom Ha'atzmaut). Marking these two days back to back is intentional, as it is a reminder of the price that has been/is being paid for independence, but it also is a reminder that these deaths are not in vain--they secure the independence of the nation of Israel. Connecting these two holidays makes them more powerful and meaningful in my opinion. It would be like celebrating Memorial Day the day before July 4th in America.

Here in Israel, the change in mood at sundown Monday evening was tangible--from mourning to celebration. The ceremony on Mount Herzl that closes Memorial Day also serves to begin Independence Day. Twelve torches are lit, symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel.

I had this Monday off and had walked up to Ben Yehuda street that afternoon, mostly just for exercise and fresh air. That evening, a group of volunteers from Christ Church walked back up to Ben Yehuda Street, and the atmosphere was completely different. Ben Yehuda (and the surrounding area) are considered the symbolic center of Jerusalem (which in turn is considered to be the center of Israel), and it is the place to be to celebrate Israel's independence. Police barricades stood at every entrance to the mall, and street vendors had tables set up on every corner (and in between!). They hawked plastic hammers, all kinds of light-up trinkets, and more. Our group walked up and down this area of celebration before sitting down for ice cream.

I didn't stay real late as I had breakfast shift the next morning, but it was a great opportunity to experience local culture and celebrate Israeli holidays. Later that evening, fireworks were set off, much like America's July 4th celebrations. I didn't see them as I was in bed :-), but I did hear them!

In fact, the next night as Israel's Independence Day came to a close, fireworks were once again set off. I didn't see these either, but they produced an unexpected and scary result. A firework apparently landed on a building not half a mile from the Christ Church compound and set it on fire!

It has been claimed that the Petra Hostel is the oldest continually-operating hotel in Jerusalem. It has hosted such guests as Mark Twain and Theodore Roosevelt. The hostel itself was built in the 1800s by the Russian Orthodox Church and is between Jaffa Gate and the entrance to the shuk.

Anyway, the small building on the roof of the hostel became inflamed after its encounter with a firework. A lecture was going on in the Heritage Center at Christ Church, but some of us volunteers heard the news while other guests were perusing the museum's exhibits. We hurried out to the street and it was quite a sight! People filled the street looking up at the burning building, a fire truck or two were parked on the street below, and firemen were standing on the roof right beside this building spraying water on the flames. As far as I could tell, they were not wearing the traditional gear US firefighters would have been wearing, especially since they were standing right next to the burning building many stories above the street.

I watched the flames for a half-hour or so. As they began to die down, I returned to the lecture inside. I peeked back out at the Petra later that night to find the fire completely out. It is definitely one of the advantages to these buildings constructed of stone--the fire did not burn down through other levels, and floors did not collapse. But, it was something to see!

One observation and one thought . . . If that firework had fallen a half-mile further south, it would have been Christ Church! Secondly, I know many of my friends back home are concerned about the safety of Jerusalem . . . Although I have heard of various incidents and clashes in/around Jerusalem since my arrival in January, this is the first real "excitement" I've encountered. Imagine--a fire from fireworks. :-)

On a more somber note, one of the volunteers here knows the person who had been living in the building that caught on fire. She had just spent the whole day with her (and others from a nearby organization) that day.

Here are some pictures of the Petra Hostel fire . . .

The view in the daylight the next morning . . .

On a more upbeat note, on Saturday April 24th, I attended a Messianic concert in Jerusalem's New City. I really wrestled with whether to go or not for many reasons, but I was strongly advised by two friends at lunch that day to go, so I took their advice. I was so glad I did! The music was beautiful, the company great, and it was such a fun evening out. Thank you Beno and John for pushing me to go!!!