Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Day), Yom HaZikkaron (Memorial Day), and Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day) are three days of commemoration on the Israeli national calendar. Sefaria has resources to help you learn more about these days and to commemorate them.
Yom HaShoah:
- “What Makes Us Human?” examines how dehumanization enables cruelty using texts from Elie Wiesel and Viktor Frankl, and others.
- Remember My Name, based on a poem by Zelda, stresses the importance of remembering the names of those who perished in the Holocaust.
- The Prayer for the Victims of the Holocaust is available in Hebrew or in English.
Yom HaZikkaron:
- Explore the influence of the biblical story of Saul’s death on Israel’s Memorial Day with this guided learning sheet.
- The Prayer for Fallen Soldiers is available in both Hebrew and English.
- In a time of public sorrow, what is the role of those in the community who did not suffer personal loss? See what the Talmud in Taanit has to say.
- One of the most difficult aspects of Yom HaZikkaron is comforting parents after the tragic loss of a child. This selection from Avot DeRabbi Natan offers wisdom gleaned from a story about comforting Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai after the death of his son.
Yom HaAtzmaut:
- Did you know that the new state of Israel held a competition to design its emblem? Celebrate Israel & Research the State's Symbol discusses the symbolism of the emblem and the process of its creation.
- Singing the Song of Israel takes you on a virtual trip through Israel using photographs and song.
- Consider the purpose of celebrating beginnings and endings with this Yom HaAtzmaut reflection from the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
- Explore joy, grief, and the month of Iyar, the month in which Yom HaAtzmaut falls.
- Should the Al HaNisim prayer be said on Yom HaAtzmaut? Jews have been discussing this question since Israel’s foundation; in this source sheet, Rabbi Dov Linzer delves into the question from a halakhic (legal) point of view.
- The Prayer for the State of Israel is available in Hebrew/English or transliteration, and the Prayer for Israeli Soldiers can be found in Hebrew/English or transliteration.