Yom Ha'atzma'ut (in retrospect)

ב׳ סיון, תשס״ו -- מ״ו לעומר

So I know I haven't been on in a while, for which I apologize. Maybe (probably) it's laziness, but I just haven't had the desire to gather thoughts, words, or even pictures for publication. I did have some photos from the Yom Ha'Atzma'ut celebration that followed my last post, but they aren't so spectacular although the event I attended was quite nice. At night I was in Efrat (more or less a suburb of Yerushalayim, but definitely a small city in its own right), and there was a strong feeling of local pride mixed with the national excitement. The presentation included speeches by R' Shlomo Riskin, the founder & chief rabbi of Efrat, as well as the head of the regional council and I think the mayor; a troop of 20-30 small children who heralded the day by blowing shofar in unison; several youth choirs & bands; a torch-lighting ceremony honoring leaders of various community services; a festive ma'ariv service with lots of singing & dancing; and fireworks right above our heads that rivaled New York's on the Fourth of July.

The next day I was in an unexplicably anti-social mood, causing me to turn down invitations to a couple of BBQs (thanks, Shana & Ari! Really!) and sit on my bed crocheting most of the day...but surprisingly, I was OK with that. Even afterwards I'm able to accept that it was a nice, relaxing day, what I needed at the time, even if it wasn't a memorable Yom Ha'atzma'ut Experience. I feel this bears mentioning because all year, on every special occasion, I've felt an urgency to get the most value for my time, so to speak. I feel that I have this one chance at each chag, so I need to spend it in the most paradigmatic Israeli way possible. But it's good that I can sometimes accept my own immediate inclinations as well, not hold myself hostage to my grand ambitions, and not feel guilty about it, either. For me, that's an achievement.