Lead Tidbit
Half-Full; Half-Empty... again
We've used that title before, but it seemed most appropriate for this piece. What follows is not a halachic presentation of an issue, but sort of a reality check. Con- sult your Rav for the halachic details.

The 5th of Iyar is Yom Haatzmaut. From very early on, the Knesset and the Chief Rabbinate (or vice versa) built into the law of the State of Israel, that if the 5th of Iyar were a Shabbat or a Friday, then the celebration and ceremonies of Yom HaAtzmaut were to be pulled back to Thursday, the 3rd or 4th of Iyar. This was done in order to prevent Chilul Shabbat (descecration of the Shabbat) by those participating in various official celebrations of the day. (An important incidental benefit is the reduction of Chilul Shabbat by personal revelers and celebrants as well.)

The question then arose as to which date should be observed as the religious holiday of Yom Haatzmaut - i.e. on which day should Hallel and other special prayers be said. Does the religious observance remain on the 5th of Iyar, or does it too move to stay together with the national observance of Yom HaAtzmaut.

This issue was debated and different opinions were offered. The concensus (maybe that's an "in your dreams" term to apply here) was and is, to keep the national and religious observances of Yom Haatzmaut concurrent. It speaks well of the Knesset and Rabbinate that they acted to protect the honor of Shabbat. [One might suggest that the moving of the reading of Megilat Esther to Thursday night and Friday, when Purim falls on Shabbat (as it can in Jerusalem) or the ban on Shofar and Lulav on Shabbat is a precedent for moving Yom HaAtzmaut, since the Purim, Rosh HaShana, and Sukkot decrees were made to prevent inadvertent desecration of Shabbat. In fact, the likelihood of the Chilul Shabbat that the Sages planned to prevent is extremely miniscule compared to the Chilul Shabbat that would be expected if Yom Haatzmaut were left on Shabbat or Friday.]

But that is almost beside the point. What we have in the Yom Haatzmaut rule is not only an attempt to protect the Shabbat from being violated, but also an attempt to avoid a further fractionalization between the secular and religious Jews.

The split is there, with the religious Zionist thanking G-d for the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz Yisrael and - among other things - the opening of the door to Eretz Yisrael to any Jew in the world who wants to come, and with the secular Zionist focusing on... other things, shall we say.

But by both having Yom Haatzmaut on the same day, there is hope for the bringing of the secular Israeli closer to Torah values, learning, and mitzvot. It's kind of hard to put into words, but TT readers who get the point, will, and those who don't probably wouldn't, even if things were explained in a better way.

And now we come to this year's situation. With the 5th of Iyar on Monday, the 4th, which is Yom HaZikaron (remembrance day for IDF soldiers and others who have died while trying to defend this country and protect its people), is on Sunday. And that means that Yom HaZikaron begins on Motza'ei Shabbat, which means potential Chilul Shabbat during the many preparations for Leil Yom HaZikaron ceremonies.

The Chief Rabbinate and Knesset have again gotten together, and agreed to push Yom HaZikaron to Sunday night - Monday (they did this with Yom HaSho'a as well). Moving Yom HaZikaron to Monday required also moving Yom Haatzmaut to Tuesday. This is a new move, not part of the original formulation of Yom Haatzmaut - which has raised the question about moving the religious nature of the day to the 6th of Iyar this year.

Personally, I would have liked to seen both Yom HaSho'a and Yom HaZikaron officially begin on Sunday morning; eliminating the Motza'ei Shabbat components of those days would have solved the Chilul Shabbat problem without having to bump Yom Haatzmaut.

Actually, if we're talking about personal preferences, then I'd really prefer all Jews to be Shomer Shabbat (Torah & Mitzvot) so there wouldn't be a potential for Chilul Shabbat in the first place. And while we're at it, let's also see all the Jews of galut (and here) realize that it is in their hands to hasten the Geula by returning to G-d, to His Torah, and to His Land.

And that is really where the half- empty; half-full feeling comes from. We have much to be thankful for, and even more to pray for, so that we will be privileged to rejoice in the Complete Redemption, speedily in our time.