Rabbi Chananya Tsfar, who heads the Rosh HaAyin Religious Council, is calling on the government to break away from the goyish (non-Jewish) custom of the Holocaust Day and Memorial Day sirens and the placing of wreaths and to replace them with the recitation of tehillim (psalms).
Rabbi Tsfar sent a letter to the leaders of the Yad L’Banim organization which oversees Memorial Day events, explaining the value of reciting Tehillim and Kadish in place of the standing idle during the sounding of the siren.
In his community of Rosh HaAyin the rabbi explains, in place of wreaths this year, they will ask mourners to light memorial candles and to recite the Kadish prayer.
The rabbi went on to explain the recitation of tehillim acts to elevate the souls of the departed. He cautioned that not standing for the memorial siren must be done respectfully, further elaborating that many secular Jews do not understand the customs and Jewish ways and one does not wish to offend them or bring increased pain.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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3 Responses
To the zionists, the holocaust is merely a political tool with no religious significance.
Joseph – Don’t you think that your statement is a little closed-minded? Ever meet a religious Zionist? Israel, as well as Chutz La’Aretz, is just TEEMING with us!
And as far as the siren versus Tehillim – how about saying Tehillim or Kaddish immediately following the siren, and being respectful to what has now become a part of Israeli and Jewish culture? If there is ever a time that unites us as a country of Jews – Dati Leumi, Charedi, Secular, Ashkenaz Sefard – it’s during these sirens. And it would really be a shame for some to feel and behave in a way that they feel is “superior.”
While the siren does not have religous importance in and of itself, it could be argued that taking a minute to stop and think about those that have died, and to focus on tzidduk hadin, hakaras hatov for to fallen soldiers and the like, is a meaningful way to mark the day for those who wish to do so. Viewing the moment of silence as just a time to stand empty headed is a shallow way of looking at things. Today, we often have too much tehillim and not enough “rachmana liba ba’ee”.