Moments of Silence

Today has been a mixed bag of emotions. We celebrated the independence of Israel in Tel Aviv, as well as took time to remember during Israel's Memorial Day. 

Memorial Day in Israel was very interesting. Similar to Holocaust Day, sirens sound throughout the entire country for a solid minute to remember all those who are no longer with us. It may seem like something so trivial, but it is quite powerful. Also, don't think that only people who are not doing anything participate. Everyone participates. Classes stop and the students rise and take a moment of silence, our auditorium rose and acknowledged the moment, and highway traffic came to halt over the country as drivers stepped out of their cars to pay their respects.

This got me thinking about my own busy life and taking moments of silence. Memorial Day, for the most part, is somber. However, since days begin in the evenings here, the mood quickly changed around 8:00pm last night. We were in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv and fireworks were being launched high into the sky and Israeli pop singers performed for the vast audience. We stared in awe at the celebration that surrounded us. 

We left Rabin Square at about 10:00pm and made our way back to where we were staying. On our way there were DJs on the boulevard playing different music. A new DJ greeted us about every block and people were dancing down the boulevard and in the in streets. It was a complete 360 from 4 hours prior. We were wrapped into the celebration of Israel's independence. 

We got ready to continue our evening, as many of the celebrations last all through the night (dancing, barbecuing  and drinking), and we needed to be ready. It was when we were waiting that we logged onto the internet. It was about 11:00pm and we were seeing the news of the Boston marathon bombings playing out on our computer screens. We were in awe and stunned into silence. 

For me, it was the first time when home came rushing back to me. My life has been vastly different since coming to Israel, and I don't really base my memories on things happening in the US, as I do when I am at home. However, when I read about Boston I immediately thought about the moment when I read about the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. I was back at Concordia, doing my news update after my first class, and never expected to read such terrible news. 

All of the sudden I was in polar opposites. On one hand I was celebrating the independence of Israel, and on the other I was struck with such terrible news of my home country. Although our excitement wasn't as high, we did go out and have fun in Tel Aviv. What was most interesting was when we came home. 

We walked in the door and immediately got onto our electronic devices for ay further news. The room was completely silent, save the few keystrokes of locating a new news source. The technological bombardment of information deafened the room. It was interesting how quickly we forgot about the festivities that literally happening outside of our door. 

Moments of silence. They come at very interesting times in our lives. Some may leave us in complete awe, while others may help us remember. Some are mandated, and some are self-inflicted. It is also interesting in seeing the way silence can bring people together. In Israel, nearly the entire nation shared in an event for a single minute. While online, we saw the immediate responses from people all over the nation sending prayers and vibes towards Boston, as well as Boston nations informing loved ones that they are safe. Their pandemonium was my silence.