Yom Tel Chai
The surviving defenders of Tel Chai retreated south to better-protected settlements. Two months later, when the French took over control of the area, the settlers were able to return. They brought with them the blood-stained flag which had hung over Tel Chai. They made a statue of a roaring lion and placed it in the cemetery where the eight casualties were buried. On the lion they engraved the words, "It is good to die for our country." Tel Chai and Trumpeldor became symbols of Jewish courage and determination to create and defend their own homeland. Today Tel Chai is a museum showing the defense of the settlement in 1920. The roaring lion is a field trip site for Israeli children.
In addition, Trumpeldor symbolized the burning desire of Jewish youth in Eastern Europe for a Jewish state. Under the leadership of Jabotinsky, they established a Youth Movement Betar, which trained Jews in Zionism and self-defense. Many of the futile attempts at resistance during the Holocaust were organized by Betar. In Israel Betar tended to be the preparation organization for Jews wishing to join the Irgun.
Upon an anniversary of a man's death, Jews say Kaddish. What kind of a connection is there between a song of praise to the Master of the Universe and sadness and graves? The significance of Kaddish probably consists in that the Sacred Name, which is praised, is not the name of your God, but the name of the God of the deceased. That holiness for which he lived and for which he perhaps died. Viewing it from this aspect "Yisgadal ve Yiskadash" therefore means, ”Although you man, are dead, the holiness which you served remains great and sacred, and we, who have survived, will continue to serve your ideals and continue to fight until the final victory."
Copyright H. David Marshak, All Rights Reserved
