Yom Hashoah: Remember and Never Forget

It's one thing to read textbooks, listen to lectures and hear statistics about the holocaust, but it is a completely different experience to be standing in Israel in remembrance of the six million whose lives were lost. Instead of hearing about yom hashoah, holocaust remembrance day, through the news or on tv, I was blessed to actually be in Israel while the day commenced. After hearing the announcement to gather at the lobby, we all frantically scrambled to meet as a group and to listen to the sirens being played. We were all talking and hanging out when the sounds of the sirens went off. All of a sudden everyone was taken by a deep silence and their conversations ceased as well as all movement. For two minutes out of the day we all stood next to each other, everyone had their hands to themselves and it seemed like we were all in our own worlds. For two minutes no one was talking like we had been doing seconds before, no one was giggling and making jokes. For two minutes the sirens echoed through the air in a bitter sweet whirlpool of sound which was reflected within every bone inside of me and could be heard throughout all of Israel. People driving in their cars, at the sound of the siren, stopped their vehicle in mid movement wherever they were and listened to the alarm. For me, it was an extremely surreal experience. I stood on the balcony of the Belmont from Kibbutz Tzuba overlooking one of my favorite, and most breathtaking, views of Israel. For two minutes the world seemed to stop and hold her breath, and everyone listening to the sirens mirrored that image without hesitation. It was remarkable and unfathomable to possess the duality of being in the moment, paying respect for those whose lives were taken away, and to actually be, physically be in the land where Jews fought for their right to live. I stood and thought and listened, because even in the darkest of times the birds are still singing, the cats are still running, and the trees are still rustling with their own song, and life is still active. It completely described the situation that we as a people have experienced that we may have undergone an extreme amount of pain, death and hardship, but we've persevered and continued to create our story and to live on. Israel, the army, and the Jews living throughout the world are a physical testimony and reminder of where we have come from, how far we've come, and the importance of continuing to live as a united people and to pass on the blessing of life. Yom hashoah, as well as every day, demonstrates that Jews are stronger than ever and that our spirits will forever stay on this earth. Knowing that all of Israel, the people I know and the strangers living miles away who stopped washing the dishes, stopped pushing on the gas pedal, or stopped eating lunch with their family were all listening to the same siren that I was, is an incredibly special moment and one of the most connected and united feelings I've had to Israel and its people. I will always have the image engrained in my mind of the two minutes of silence that said more than words.