They Gave Their Lives So Israel Could Live | 10@9 | Yom HaZikaron | 2026.04.21
From Mining The Riches Of The Parsha by Rabbi Michael Whitman
April 21, 2026 · 14 min
About this episode
Rabbi Michael Whitman reflects on Yom HaZikaron and the sacrifices made for Israel's existence.
Today is Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers. Israel commemorates its fallen with an intensity that is difficult to fully grasp from the outside - a national experience of grief, gratitude, and memory that touches every life. Few works capture this more powerfully than “The Silver Platter” by Natan Alterman. Each time I read it, I am moved to tears of gratitude and awe for the young men and women who gave - and continue to give - their lives so that the State of Israel can not only endure, but flourish. Without their sacrifice, Israel would not exist. The transition from Yom HaZikaron immediately into Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel's Independence Day, is not incidental. It is designed to allow us to experience and appreciate the loss and the joy, the dark and the light, the pain and the beauty which coexist for Israel at every moment. Today asks something of us: to feel both. To carry the weight of what has been lost, and at the same time, to recognize the miracle that continues because of it. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox…
People in this episode
Host: Rabbi Michael Whitman
Topics covered
- Yom HaZikaron
- Israel's Memorial Day
- sacrifice
- grief and gratitude
- national identity
Keywords
- Yom HaZikaron
- Israel
- sacrifice
- Natan Alterman
- memorial
- grief
- Independence Day
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: ADATH Congregation
Places: Israel
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