From the minds of our youngest, we see perfectly encapsulated the emotions we experience as we mark the transition between Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day), and Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day), that twilight zone between commemoration and celebration, which takes place tonight.

It is a painful but intentional moment in time, which the rabbis of the Jerusalem Talmud describe, centuries beforehand, as “like a drop of blood on the edge of a sword”.

We are reminded, subsequently, of two important facts of Israeli, and indeed, Jewish life.

The first is that nothing good comes without its price, without its sacrifice – sometimes, literally, of life. We are especially mindful that we mark this Yom HaZikaron with 59 hostages still held in Gaza captivity.

The second is that, as a people, we know how to laugh and cry with the same eyes. We know that life in Israel and life as a Jew in the Diaspora is not perfect, and it comes with its cost. Yet, we carry that weight with us, as we take just one day to celebrate all that is good, and all that we are fortunate to have, in the land and among the people of Israel.

In other words, we live in full recognition of the double-edged sword that we wield.

However, what I’m coming to realize is that we can choose how we wield it.

As we slept last night, one of our sister congregations in Rana’ana, Beit Samueli Reform Congregation, was attacked by a mob of extremists as the synagogue screened the Israeli-Palestinian joint ceremony for Yom HaZikaron.

This event, as per the statement from our Reform partners – the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem, and the MARAM (Israeli Reform Rabbis) – is designed to promote unity, understanding among neighbours.

Instead of coming to remember and to hope for a better future, the attendees were met with hostility and hatred.

So, what is our choice at this fraught time on our calendar?

We can either live in that same violence of thought and action, or we can, in solidarity with our Israeli friends, family, and colleagues, continue to believe in and fight for Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state.

There is, thankfully, an action step you can take, which you will be hearing about in the coming weeks, and which we will launch tonight at our joyous “Taste of Israel” event: to vote for the Reform slate in the upcoming World Zionist Congress elections. This will ensure billions of shekels are allocated to causes that actualize and protect our shared ideals, in Israel: dignity, peace, and pluralism.

Keep an eye out for more information on the ARZA Canada website regarding registration and voting, and we hope that you will join us.