Flag Days |
Dedicated to the memory of Shulamit
Cohen-Kishik z”l, an Israeli spy for Israel’s Mossad who worked undercover in
Lebanon for 14 years. Shulamit was my student and she passed away this week at
the age of 100. Over the past few weeks, many flags
have been displayed in Israel. Beginning on Erev Yom HaZikaron, the eve of
Israel’s Memorial Day for the fallen soldiers, Israeli flags have been waving
from windows and porches. Most public buildings display large Israeli flags as
well. The Israeli flags remain up until after Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day).
Two other flags were hanging in
Jerusalem this week in honor of Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Reunification Day.
The first was the municipal Yerushalayim flag, with a lion, the symbol of
Jerusalem, and the second, a special Jerusalem at 50 flag. On Wednesday afternoon the
“Rikudegalim”, “Dance with Flags Parade” took place with over 80,000 people
dancing from Jerusalem’s city center into the Old City carrying Israeli and
Jerusalem flags. Each flag has its own meaning. Let’s focus on the Jerusalem flag
and its Biblical origins: In Parshat Bamidbar 2:1-2, we read
about B’nai Yisrael’s travels in the desert: “God spoke to Moshe and to Aharon
saying; ‘The Children of Israel shall encamp, each man by his flag according to
the insignias of their fathers’ household, at a distance surrounding the Tent
of Meeting shall they encamp.’” According to Rashi, each flag has as
its insignia a different colored cloth. Each color corresponds with the hue of
its gem set in the breastplate (choshen). This made it easy for the members of
each tribe to recognize their flag. Another interpretation is that each
flag had the sign that Yaakov gave each tribe before his death. In Bamidbar
Raba 2:6, we learn that the flag for the tribe of Yehuda (the tribe whose
territory contained most of Jerusalem) was sky blue with a lion as we see in
Breisheet 49:9, “A lion cub is Yehuda; from the prey, my son, you elevated
yourself. He crouches, lies down like a lion and like an awesome lion, who
dares rouse him?” In 1949 there was a contest to see who
could come up with the best Jerusalem flag and the lion won. In 1967, the flag
became the flag of the united Jerusalem. This week, Jerusalem saw one more
flag hanging as well, the American flag which was displayed in honor of President
Trump’s visit. Seeing the American flag hanging in Jerusalem along with the
Israeli and Jerusalem flags reminded me that this coming week Memorial Day will
commemorated in the United States. My grandfather, Harry V. DuBrow was a World
War II veteran and he took Memorial Day very seriously. In Israel, everyone
knows somebody who fell fighting to keep the State of Israel safe so Yom
Hazikaron is very somber. In the United States, many have no personal connection
to the military. May the Unites States of America
learn a lesson from Israel and make it a priority to give honor to those who
were killed fighting for their country. |