108: How personal grief built a nation

108: How personal grief built a nation

From Ask Haviv Anything by Haviv Rettig Gur

April 20, 2026 · 29 min · Episode 108

About this episode

This episode explores the profound arc of Israel's national remembrance days, highlighting personal grief and its impact on Jewish strength and survival.

On the eve of Yom HaZikaron, Memorial Day, we explore the profound arc of Israel's national remembrance days -- from Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) through Memorial Day, into Yom Ha'atzma'ut (Independence Day), and ending with the quiet, almost unknown commemoration of Theodor Herzl’s yahrzeit. It is an arc of memory, sacrifice, and renewal -- not abstract, but usually personal and intimate -- that lies at the heart of Jewish strength and survival in a dangerous world. -- This episode was sponsored by an anonymous sponsor who asked to dedicate it to the memory of those we lost on October 7. -- If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that guide the topics we cover on the podcast, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live. If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at haviv@askhavivanything.com⁠. Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.

People in this episode

Host: Haviv Rettig Gur

Topics covered

  • national remembrance
  • Israel's history
  • personal grief
  • Jewish strength
  • sacrifice and renewal

Keywords

  • Yom HaZikaron
  • Yom HaShoah
  • Yom Ha'atzma'ut
  • Theodor Herzl
  • memorial
  • grief
  • Israel
  • Jewish history

Sponsors

Anonymous Sponsor

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