Thursday, April 4th, 7 am.
I'm already on my way to Jerusalem, to the state ceremony. The roads are empty and my soul is quiet. I'm looking for the next thing that will awaken and stir Jewish emotion, and remind us that we have no one to rely on but our Father in Heaven.
There is heavy security at the President's residence, and security personnel hand out glasses of cold water to the honored guests, who are standing in the scorching sun, while in the background there are tear-jerking conversations and stories about the establishment of the state, about the heroism and strength of our unity.
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Mr. President Reuven Rivlin listed 68 reasons for his love for the country.
Aliza, a brave woman and a soldier hero, excitedly awaits the opening of the ceremony for the honorees, along with her twins, David and Jonathan, both seated in wheelchairs - one in the audience, and the other on stage, next to the Prime Minister, waiting to receive a certificate of merit. Her face is radiant, but it reveals the long and difficult years in which she lovingly raised her children.
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At the torch-lighting ceremony, only Herzl Biton, the bus driver who physically overpowered a terrorist and saved passengers, managed to truly move the crowds when he went up to light the torch.
In contrast to the leaders of the government who claim for themselves successes in repelling the threats around us, he stood there with great strength and power, and cried out in a loud voice: "That we have lived and sustained and have reached this time" - and thanked the God of Israel wholeheartedly, for having performed and performing these miracles for us every day, for 100 years now.
Independence Day has become a circus of show and ego for politicians and senior officials, who insist on taking credit, glorifying their names and actions for the State of Israel - but this is not the way to celebrate a holiday.
Lag BaOmer is an example: a holiday that succeeds in making God accessible and allows us to live in the divine space, out of unity, and touches all levels of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel.
Lag BaOmer is a day of joy, when hundreds of thousands ascend to the grave of Rashbi on Mount Meron, which is his day of rejoicing, and offer prayers.
On such a day of demonstrating "Israeli unity," one can see all the Jewish communities - Sephardim and Ashkenazim, Hasidim and Lithuanians - lighting bonfires, dancing around them and rejoicing together, and one after another going to his grave and listing many more than 68 reasons to give thanks for the miracles and greatness of the one and only, the Blessed One.
