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10 Ways Jewish Israelis Will Celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut This Year
Because Yom HaZikaron (Israeli Memorial Day) and Yom HaAtzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) fall back to back on the Hebrew calendar, Independence Day festivities begin almost immediately after the mourning and solemnities of Memorial Day.
Yom HaZikaron: Israel’s Fallen Heroes and Us
The day is a gut-wrenching one, and yet one profoundly important in the life of a country. It is a day when we let the pain in, when we listen to and internalize the myriad stories, when we understand that their fight is also our fight.
Spread the Word: Virtual Events Commemorating Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut
As Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut approach during this continued period of social distancing, you're invited to join the Reform Movement and our partners for any and all of the following online events in observance of the two holidays.
Galilee Diary: Winter
It is life we want, no more and no less than that, our own life feeding on our own vital sources, in the fields and under the skies of our homeland, a life based on our own physical and mental labors; we want vital energy and spiritual richness from this living source.
Tu BiShvat: Customs and Rituals
The Jewish mystics of the 17th century, the Kabbalists, created a special ritual—modeled after the Passover seder—to celebrate God's presence in nature. Today in modern Israel, Tu BiShvat has become a national holiday, a tree planting festivaTu BiShvat is not mentioned in the Torah. Scholars believe the holiday was originally an agricultural festival, corresponding to the beginning of spring in Israel. But a critical historical event helped Tu BiShvat evolve from a simple celebration of spring to a commemoration of our connection to the land of Israel. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. and the exile that followed, many of the exiled Jews felt a need to bind themselves symbolically to their former homeland. Tu BiShvat served in part to fill that spiritual need. Jews used this time each year to eat a variety of fruits and nuts that could be obtained from Israel. The practice, a sort of physical association with the land, continued for many centuries.l for both Israelis and Jews throughout the world
Tu BiShvat: History
Although the celebration of Tu BiShvat has a long and varied history, the theme most commonly ascribed to the holiday today is the environment.
A Week in the Life: Memory, Celebration, Social Justice, and Peace
As the sorrow and mourning of Yom HaZikaron give way to Yom HaAtzmaut’s jubilation and pride, we understand that we cannot have one without the other.
What It Means to Be Religious Zionists
As religious Zionists, Israel’s Reform leaders continually reinvent an Israeli Judaism that is authentic, inclusive, and ever-adapting to our evolving religious civilization.
Lighting the Way to a Strong and Inspiring Israel
Reform Judaism has a window of opportunity among Israelis who now see how progressive forms of Judaism can shape the future of the State of Israel.