The Eternal Honor of Israel’s Fallen: Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s Powerful Memorial Day Message

On Israel’s Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef shared the following words at a Memorial Day gathering many years ago. His words are as relevant and fitting today as they were then.

The Gemara (Bava Batra 10b) teaches: “The martyrs of Lod — no creature can stand in their presence.” The “martyrs of Lod” were the brothers Pappus and Lulianus, in the well-known episode: The daughter of the king was found murdered, and the non-Jews suspected that a Jew had killed her. A harsh decree was issued against the entire nation — to destroy, kill, and annihilate. Pappus and Lulianus stepped forward and gave their lives for the Jewish people, declaring: “We are the ones who killed her.” The king executed only them, and the entire Jewish nation was spared.
About them the Sages said: “No creature can stand in their presence,” because of their immense reward in the World to Come.

There is no doubt that these words apply equally to the fallen soldiers of the IDF buried in the Land of Israel, who risked and sacrificed their lives in Israel’s battles — for our redemption and our physical survival. Swifter than eagles and stronger than lions — may their souls be bound in the bond of life.

Our nation is accustomed to suffering and soaked with tears — by the rivers of blood of our brothers that have been spilled like water. “I had no rest, no quiet, no peace — yet trouble came.” From the day our Holy Temple was destroyed and our people were exiled from their land, Jewish blood has been spilled like water. The nations said: “Come, let us cut them off from being a nation, so that the name of Israel will no longer be remembered.” And a heavenly voice cries out in bitter weeping three times a day: “Woe to Me that I destroyed My house, burned My sanctuary, and exiled My children among the nations!”

We have always been a target of hatred — eternal hatred for an eternal people. In every generation they rise up to destroy us. The Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (23a) states: “Woe to the nations of the world, for they have no remedy.”

The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Parashat Matot) teaches that all those murdered by the wicked nations — God dips their blood onto a garment until it becomes saturated. When the Day of Judgment arrives, the Almighty — “God of vengeance,” wraps Himself in that garment. Seeing the bodies of the murdered, He girds Himself with righteousness to execute judgment upon the nations: rebuke upon peoples, binding their kings in chains and their nobles in iron fetters. As it is written: “He will judge the nations — filled with corpses.”

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (Photo: Yoav Ari Dudkevitch / Flash 90)

Memorial Day: Not Only Mourning, but Self-Reflection

Memorial Day should not serve only as a day of grief for the loss of our fallen — whose deaths are as devastating as the destruction of the Temple. It must also be a day of soul-searching.

We must strive to return to the traditions of our fathers, to come back to Torah and good deeds, and to educate our children in Torah.
As the verse says: “Return to Me, and I will return to you.”

Many who died for the sanctification of God’s Name did so to ensure the Jewish nation could continue living according to its Torah.
Many were literally killed because they refused to abandon their faith. Therefore, certainly in their death they commanded us to live — to live the life of Torah.

As Rabbeinu Saadia Gaon said: “Our nation is a nation only through its Torah.”

May Their Merit Protect Us

May the merit of the fallen soldiers of the IDF — defenders of our holy land, together with all the holy martyrs of the Jewish people, stand forever as a shield of protection over their families. May they stand and pray before the Throne of Glory on behalf of all Israel, that we should no longer suffer grief.

As it is written: “Never again will your sun set, nor your moon wane; for the Lord will be your eternal light, and the days of your mourning will be ended.”

And may the verse be fulfilled: “I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and plant them, and they shall dwell securely and shall be disturbed no more.” “You shall call Your walls salvation, and Your gates praise.”

May our eyes behold the rebuilding of our Holy Temple — firm and eternal. For it is said: “The day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redemption has come.” “Oh, that from Zion would come the salvation of Israel! When the Lord returns the captivity of His people — Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.”

May God remove the spirit of impurity from the earth, and may the Redeemer come to Zion speedily in our days. Amen.