Jerusalem Shabbat

Today, the 26th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, is the first day of the miraculous Six Day War, in which the Jewish people liberated the City of Jerusalem and returned to it as a sovereign after almost 2,000 years. People who were adults at that time, in 1967, and are here with us today to tell the stories of that time, say that before the war broke, people were SURE that this was going to be the end of the Jewish State. There was a sense of doom all over the country. There were bitter utterances of people saying 'let the last one who survives and remain here turn off the lights at Ben Gurion Airport'. The government of Israel prepared 70,000 (!!!) coffins and dug thousands of graves for soldiers, anticipating numerous casualties. In reality, at the end of the war, there were about 780 dead Jewish soldiers, each of them precious, each of them indispensable, but it means that numerous other precious lives were spared. The tiny state of Israel, only 19 years old at the time, who managed to build itself under constant hostilities from neighboring countries and Arab residents of Israel - this little David had to face a whole out war with no less than 4 great, established Arab armies that aim to destroy it, the armies of Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Iraq. Some of the readers of this blog have lived as young adults during that time, and can probably tell of their own impressions of those days. The whole world was in a state of shock to find out that Israel, who was destined for destruction in that war, emerged victorious, and did it in SIX DAYS!! Who could have ever imagined? It was a proof to many in the world that G-d does exist, and that He has not forsaken His people. This war was like another chapter in the Bible - a sequel of the great miracles of the Splitting of the Red Sea, the Manna from Heaven, the Pillars of Fire and Cloud.
In fact, every day that the State of Israel, even to this day, exists in the hostile Middle East, is a miracle. How could this be? With so many millions of Muslims who are hostile to our presence here, and with so many wars and terror attacks against this little State, we not only survive, we also thrive and prosper, against all odds, against human reason, and countries from the far flung corners of the world come here to establish Innovation Centers - to employ Israelis to think and develop new ideas for them. Three Japanese technology giants have already opened Development Centers here, including Mitsui and Hitachi, and Mitsubishi declared a few days ago that it is going to do the same soon. In synagogues this coming Shabbat, after reading from the Torah, we will also read from the Prophet Hosea: "And it shall come to pass that, instead of that which was said unto them: 'You are not My people', it shall be said unto them: 'You are the children of the living G-d'." (Hosea 2:1 - in Christian translations it appears in Hosea 1:10). It is SO fitting!!

Yesterday I was privileged to attend a very special event. It started with a WhatsApp message that was posted in one of the groups. It said: "Rene Zlotkin, an Auschwitz survivor and one of the Mengele twins, is coming from New York to Jerusalem today with his daughter, to bury his twin sister. They don't have much family in Israel, so anyone who can, please come to be there with them." The funeral was at Mt. of Olives. I debated whether to go or not because it was such a hot day yesterday (36 Celsius...), but I decided to go. When I arrived, I realized it was the right thing to do. Other people came too, which made me happy, but there were not that many of us, so every person who was there made a difference.
We walked from the "7 Arches Hotel" to the back of the mountain in the east - a stunning, gorgeous area that I've never visited before. When we reached the family plot, they opened the car where Irene's body was, and her brother, husband and daughter said their eulogies, without reading, just speaking from their heart, crying while they did so. After coming back from the funeral, I wrote the following, and I share it with you:

Rene Zlotkin and his sister Irene were inseparable throughout their lives. Together they were born in Czechoslovakia on the same day in 1937, together they were deported by the Nazis with their mother to Theresienstadt, then to Auschwitz, and together they were taken to the notorious clinics of Dr. Mengele, where they were subjected to inhumane experiments. Though they lost their mother in the war, they both managed to survive, rebuild their lives and start beautiful, thriving Jewish families.

Irene, who suffered tremendously due to the experiments done on her body, passed away yesterday in America at the age of 82. Her family in America chose to bring her to burial in Jerusalem, in the family plot on Mt. of Olives today. Since they do not have a lot of family and acquaintances in Israel, Israelis who have heard about it came to the funeral to accompany Irene on her last journey.

Rene, who eulogized his sister before the burial, said: “We were together since we were born. We were in Auschwitz together, we came out of there together, we were in New York together, we went to the same schools, but yesterday morning, when we found out that she was no longer here – for me the whole world wasn’t the same, the whole world was different, changed.” Later, he added to a small circle of people around him: “When we came to Jerusalem today, and I was looking around me, I realized that we are part of an ancient chain, that we are the continuation of this chain, and seeing the rebuilt Jerusalem made it clear to me. It moved me a lot. I’ve looked at Jerusalem today and seen it like I’ve never seen it before. Not just with my eyes. With my heart”.

One of Irene’s daughters told the crowd that her mother’s favorite song was Naomi Shemer’s Yerushalayim shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold). After the burial was over and the prayers were said, the crowd stayed standing around her grave and sang for her the song that she so loved, on the backdrop of the beautiful golden hills of Jerusalem, the city of her final rest.

In Memory of Irene Hizme, Rivka Yocheved bat Zvi Meir. 

Here is a short video from a couple of years back in which Rene tells a bit about his holocaust experiences, in a very bright, faithful attitude:

https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-a-survivors-deep-faith-in-divine-providence/

Shabbat Shalom!

R.