Join - Jews come together to recite Psalms in memory of Israel's fallen
In the framework of the project, participants can choose among the 24,000 soldiers who lost their life for Israel, learn about who they were and recite Psalms for them.
By ROSSELLA TERCATINHaredim to light virtual candle for soldiers in 'One People' project(photo credit: Courtesy)
Thousands of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Israelis are marking Yom Hazikaron (Remembrance Day) by lighting a virtual candle and reciting Psalms to honor the memory of fallen soldiers.The project “One People – Loving and Remembering” features a special website where participants can sign up to read chapters of Psalms with the goal of completing the full book 24,000 times, as many as those who lost their lives fighting for Israel. In order to complete the task, everyone is invited to join (in order to join click here.)With the coronavirus emergency forcing official ceremonies to be held without any public and preventing bereaved families and friends from visiting their loved ones at the cemeteries, the upcoming Remembrance Day, which will start on Monday at nightfall, will be different from any other in the country’s history.However, the crisis also represents an opportunity for the people of Israel to foster a sense of unity and community. In the framework of the project, participants can choose among the 24,000 soldiers who lost their life for Israel, learn about who they were and pray for them. The organizers are also helping them connect with the bereaved families.The initiative is promoted by the haredi news platform Kikar HaShabbat and other organizations. Among the rabbis who are supporting it are Ashkenazi and Sephardi Chief Rabbis of Israel David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef, former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, and Rabbi Reuven Elbaz, a member of the Shas Council of Torah Sages.The relationship between the haredi world and the army has always been a source of tension within the Israeli society. Since before its foundation, most haredi groups have opposed or at least remained cold towards the idea of a state re-established by the Jewish people before the messianic era and ruled according to secular law as opposed to religious law.Decades after, even if most groups have come to at least some form of recognition of the state, they still don’t serve in the army and the attempt to force a higher number of young haredi men to draft has been a great source of political and social tension. For this reason, involvement of ultra-orthodox Israelis in Yom Hazikaron celebrations is considered especially meaningful. The coronavirus and the role the IDF played in haredi communities by helping the local population, led organizers to believe there was an opportunity for change. Organizers expect at least 50,000 people to take part in the initiative and they are confident that the full list of names will be covered.The promoters are also working to make sure that the widespread lack of access to the internet and technological tools in the haredi communities does not prevent the initiative from succeeding.
