I want to wish you all a happy and Kosher Passover and leave you with this classic video of v'Hi She'Amda (He Who Stands with us through the generations).
Let's go to the videotape.
Have a wonderful holiday everyone. Since there's only one day in Israel on which it's forbidden to do work, I will be back tomorrow night, God willing.
This week's Torah portion is Bo, which includes the Exodus from Egypt. And so, without further ado, here are Yaakov Shwekey and Yonatan Razel with v'Hi she'Amda (And that which stood for our forefathers and for us) from the Passover Haggada.
The cultural editor of Italy's Il Foglio and a Wall Street Journal contributor, Meotti spent four years in Israel meeting with the families of the fallen, absorbing their stories, and marinating in their sorrow. The book lovingly and unsparingly describes the victims and survivors of Palestinian terror attacks, making flesh the abstract newspaper headlines that antiseptically summarize (and minimize) the brutal carnage. As Meotti explains, recounting these tales is nothing less than "an act of solidarity against the abandonment and dereliction of these thousands of victims, young and old, children and infants, women and men."
Both the Nazis during World War II and the Islamists today aim to eradicate not only the Jewish people, but also the Jewish name, and hope to stamp out any sense of Jewish personhood. As the author puts it, "the silence of Chelmno and the silence after a suicide bombing, the Zyklon B of the Nazis and the suicide belts of Hamas have this in common: the total destruction of the victim." And so Meotti set about "giving a voice to Israeli families destroyed by terrorism, letting them speak as the memories are beginning to fade" as "a form of incarnation like those stark walls of names at [Yad Vashem, Israel's] Holocaust memorial," which itself means "hand and name."
A sincere non-Jewish admirer of the Jewish state, Meotti enshrines the memory of the fallen in probably the most effective way possible: by gently turning over his pen to the families themselves. Seemingly half of the book consists of direct quotations by grieving parents, siblings, and children gleaned from interviews, eulogies, and other memorial speeches. These stories are organized haphazardly, and they're often graphic and difficult to stomach—both tendencies appear to be intentional.
Now, eight years later, insulated by the remarkably successful West Bank security fence, we easily forget the extreme anguish and mortal fear in which Israelis wallowed during the Second Intifada. In the 15 years since Oslo, 1,723 Israelis—equivalent in percentage terms to 74,000 Americans, or roughly 25 9/11's—have perished in some 150 suicide attacks, while another 10,000 have suffered injuries.
Here are Yaakov Shwekey and Yonatan Razel singing v'Hi she'Amda (And who stood up for our parents and for us) from the Pesach Hagadah, which we will be singing in a few hours. The video is from a live concert in Caesaria a year and a half ago.
This is really a beautiful song.
Let's go to the videotape - I have more afterward.
I want to wish each and every one of you a Chag Kasher v'Sameyach - a Happy and Kosher Pesach.
For those of you who are not Jewish, or who are Jewish and live in Israel, I will be back on Tuesday night since we only have one holiday day at the beginning and one at the end (the rest of our days are Chol HaMoed - intermediate days with a different character) in Israel.
For those of you who are Jewish outside Israel, I look forward to having you back after dark on Wednesday night.
The Torah portion this week includes the Exodus from Egypt, and so... here are Yaakov Shwekey and Yonatan Razel singing v'Hi She'amda (That which has stood up for us) from the Passover Haggada. For those of you who - like me - grew up on a very dry tune for this song, I have to tell you that this tune is stunning.
And it's from a live concert in Caesaria with a full orchestra (the person who uploaded it to YouTube claims not to be religious).
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
