Tonight marks the beginning of Yom Hazikaron, the day of rememberance for Israel's fallen soldiers.
Since its founding in 1948, Israel has endured numerous wars.
1948- The War for independance
1956 - Crisis in the Suez
1967 - Six Day WAr
1973 - Yom Kippur War
1982 - First Lebanon War (Operation Peace for the Galilee)
1987 - First Intifada
2000 - Second Intifada
2006- Second Lebanon War
Those who study or know the history of Judaism, know that for thousands of years the Jews have been beaten down and harassed by every nation they've lived under. Kept as second class citizens, the Jew became ghettoized, living in daily fear of his neighbour. A single angry priest or drunken anti-semite could instigate a pogrom that would see hundreds if not thousands of Jews murdered or raped by their fellow townsmen.
If they lived today, how great would their awe be at the sight of the first standing Jewish army in well over 2 000 years ready to fight and die for their people. How much more so when they see that this rag-tag army formed out of farm boys and local ruffians 58 years ago has become one of the most elite and proven fighting forces in the world.
To that end, this poem was written.
For the Fallen soldiers of Israel, zichreihem li'vracha (may their memories be blessed) aleihem hashalom (peace be upon them)
The Parade of The Fallen
by Chayim Hefer
They come from the mountains,
from the valley, from the desert,
They come - names, faces, eyes -
and they stand for the parade.
They come in a masculine step,
strong and sun-tanned,
They emerge from the shattered planes
and from the burnt tanks;
They rise from behind the rocks, from across
the dunes, from connecting ditches,
Brave as lions, tough as tigers, swift as eagles,
And they pass one by one
between two rows of angels,
Who feed them candy and place flowers
around their necks;
And I look at them, and all of them are happy.
These are my brothers my friends, these are my brothers.
And they meet one another,
black eyes and blue and brown,
And they remind each other of names,
of weapons, and of places,
And they pour each other cups of coffee and tea
And burst out suddenly together shouting: "Huzza! Hurra!"
And they meet in the large assemblage,
friends and comrades,
And officers slap the privates' shoulders
and the privates shake the officers' hands,
And they burst out in song and clap their hands
And all the dwellers of heaven listen to them
awe struck,
And the get-together lasts day and night,
and night and day,
Because such a bunch has not yet been seen above!
And then suddenly they hear familiar voices crying,
And they look homeward at father and mother,
at their wives, their children and their brothers,
And their faces are silent
and they stand ill at ease
And then someone quickly whispers:
Forgive us, but we had to!
We won the battles and now we are resting.
These are my brothers my friends, these are my brothers.
And so they stand, the light bright on their faces,
And only the Lord Himself passes among them,
With tears in His eyes He kisses their wounds
And He says in a trembling voice
to the white angels:
These are my sons my friends,
these are my sons!
Since its founding in 1948, Israel has endured numerous wars.
1948- The War for independance
1956 - Crisis in the Suez
1967 - Six Day WAr
1973 - Yom Kippur War
1982 - First Lebanon War (Operation Peace for the Galilee)
1987 - First Intifada
2000 - Second Intifada
2006- Second Lebanon War
Those who study or know the history of Judaism, know that for thousands of years the Jews have been beaten down and harassed by every nation they've lived under. Kept as second class citizens, the Jew became ghettoized, living in daily fear of his neighbour. A single angry priest or drunken anti-semite could instigate a pogrom that would see hundreds if not thousands of Jews murdered or raped by their fellow townsmen.
If they lived today, how great would their awe be at the sight of the first standing Jewish army in well over 2 000 years ready to fight and die for their people. How much more so when they see that this rag-tag army formed out of farm boys and local ruffians 58 years ago has become one of the most elite and proven fighting forces in the world.
To that end, this poem was written.
For the Fallen soldiers of Israel, zichreihem li'vracha (may their memories be blessed) aleihem hashalom (peace be upon them)
The Parade of The Fallen
by Chayim Hefer
They come from the mountains,
from the valley, from the desert,
They come - names, faces, eyes -
and they stand for the parade.
They come in a masculine step,
strong and sun-tanned,
They emerge from the shattered planes
and from the burnt tanks;
They rise from behind the rocks, from across
the dunes, from connecting ditches,
Brave as lions, tough as tigers, swift as eagles,
And they pass one by one
between two rows of angels,
Who feed them candy and place flowers
around their necks;
And I look at them, and all of them are happy.
These are my brothers my friends, these are my brothers.
And they meet one another,
black eyes and blue and brown,
And they remind each other of names,
of weapons, and of places,
And they pour each other cups of coffee and tea
And burst out suddenly together shouting: "Huzza! Hurra!"
And they meet in the large assemblage,
friends and comrades,
And officers slap the privates' shoulders
and the privates shake the officers' hands,
And they burst out in song and clap their hands
And all the dwellers of heaven listen to them
awe struck,
And the get-together lasts day and night,
and night and day,
Because such a bunch has not yet been seen above!
And then suddenly they hear familiar voices crying,
And they look homeward at father and mother,
at their wives, their children and their brothers,
And their faces are silent
and they stand ill at ease
And then someone quickly whispers:
Forgive us, but we had to!
We won the battles and now we are resting.
These are my brothers my friends, these are my brothers.
And so they stand, the light bright on their faces,
And only the Lord Himself passes among them,
With tears in His eyes He kisses their wounds
And He says in a trembling voice
to the white angels:
These are my sons my friends,
these are my sons!
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
katya:
I saw him once and i was really surprised to see how short he is, he is really tiny!
kerr41:
That is a beautiful poem