Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu last week participated in a ceremony in which the final letters were written in a Sefer Torah in memory of fallen IDF soldiers.
The event was in continuation of a welcoming ceremony for 73 Torah scrolls in memory of fallen IDF soldiers that was held last August at the Kosel. The Sifrei Torah were sent to various cities around Israel. Representatives of Yad L’Banim and the Defense Ministry Unit for Commemorating Fallen Soldiers brought one of the Sifrei Torah to the Prime Minister so that he could inscribe the final letters.
PM Netanyahu stated, “I am pleased to be here with you. I am very moved. The completion of this Torah scroll expresses the sanctity of life and the great pain that we feel over the loss of our sons and daughters. But this is the price of our life and this is the great difference in the history of our people. Before we established the state, we were like a leaf blown about by the wind. They freely slaughtered us and killed us; today, we can strike at our enemies and frustrate their aims of annihilation. Sadly, this entails a very heavy price. You know this. You know this Miriam; I know it. Parents know. This is a terrible price but it is the price of life. I think that only someone in this family of the bereaved understands the magnitude of the pain but also the strength of life.”
Also in attendance were Prime Minister’s Office Director-General Eli Groner, Yad L’Banim Chairman Eli Ben-Shem, IDF Chief Rabbi Brig.-Gen. Rafi Peretz, Defense Ministry Deputy Director General and Director of the Families and Commemoration Department Arieh Mualem, Unit for Commemorating Fallen Soldiers head Yaakov Gabbai, representatives of bereaved families and Laurent Amram, who contributed to the dedication of the Torah scrolls in memory of fallen IDF soldiers.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem / Photo: Kobi Gideon, GPO)
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One Response
“…Before we established the State, we were like a leaf blown about by the wind. They freely slaughtered us and killed us: today we can strike…” (Netanyahu’s speech)
Netanyahu is articulating the prevailing belief in our time. “This is the price” explains Netanyahu “the price of our lives…”
But is it possible that latent in these very scrolls is a totally different answer? Does the very term “like a leaf blown about” not appear in those very scrolls? Is it really the lack of an army that brings about such a reality?? Is the presence of an army really the solution and the answer??
May we all truly cling to these scrolls and the true message that they carry with them. Only this can end the cycle that we are in. Only this could be a true consolation to the broken hearts of our mourners. May this be a merit for the Neshomos of the fallen H”yd!