All you need is 2 minutes
Memorial Day
To understand the genius of modern Israel, all you need is two minutes.
Today is Memorial Day in Israel—an extraordinary day that looms large, overshadowing the natural rhythm of our lives.
At 11:00 AM, everything stops.
Ten million Israelis pause their lives for two minutes.
Cars pull over to the side of the road.
People rise from their desks.
Entire cities fall silent.
In those two minutes, you can see—and feel—the essence of Israel.
You understand the secret of our strength.
You see crowds of Israelis gathering, ascending, visiting the graves of the righteous—those who fell in Israel’s wars.
And for those two minutes, you feel the power of total solidarity.
Not only the bereaved make this pilgrimage. Multitudes—many, many of our people—step away from their lives to stand in cemeteries across the land and unite with the souls of the fallen.
And when the siren sounds, when the signal is given, something profound happens.
The people of Israel—our souls and the roots of our souls—bind together.
Two minutes. That’s all it takes.
To become one people.
One heart.
One soul stretching from Eilat to Kiryat Shmona.
Open your heart, my friend.
Open your soul.
In these two minutes, the entire nation enters the Holy of Holies.
Bound in unity of thought, heart, and spirit—with all those whose blood was spilled on the altar of return and rebuilding.
In memory of Yona Brief, Zur Avraham, Eitan Fish, Tuval Yaakov Tzanani, and Yakir Yedidya Shankolevsky—heroes of Israel who fell in combat in the war with Hamas.
Dedicated to all the heroes of Israel—the men and women who gave their lives so that we may live, study, build families, communities, companies, and country.
Adapted from an essay by Rabbi Oded Wolansky. Edited by Roee Kronfeld.