Thread: What's In A Number?

64. 22,993. 180. 2. 1.

What's in a number? Can a number by itself evoke emotion? Can a number by itself tell a story?

64 - Israel is turning 64 tomorrow. Israel will celebrate 64 years of independence, 64 years of being a nation that has been threatened since the day it came into existence yet still stands strong and has defeated every enemy that has ever tried to destroy it.

22,993 - The reason Israel is still in existence today. 22,993 men, women, teenagers and children that gave up their lives so that others may live. 22,993 people that have died in Israel's wars or in terrorist attacks since the very day the country was founded 64 years ago.

180 - The amount of seconds we as a nation and a country stand still in mourning and in remembrance as the sirens wail and we commemorate the loss of our loved ones. One minute at 8:00 PM to mark the beginning of the day and two minutes during the day, intentionally disrupting our day so we can't ignore it, forcing us to think about those that made the ultimate sacrifice for our well-being.

2 - Two full minutes during the day at 11:00 sharp where we put aside personal disagreements, personal animosities and our individual problems and stand side by side, shoulder by shoulder with people we never met and don't know, and think back to those who died so that we may live.

1 - The amount of seconds it takes for another family to lose someone and to join thousands of other families of fallen soldiers. The amount of time it takes a bullet to pierce a head or a heart. The amount of time it takes a missile to hit a tank and explode. The amount of time it takes an un-aimed rocket to fall in a civilian area and extinguish the bright light that moments ago was a child's smile.

1 - The individual soldier or victim of a terrorist attack, a tiny part of the 22,993 victims, yet an entire world for a family. For the mother, father, wife, husband, sister, brother, sons, daughters, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends. An entire world extinguished quicker than one can snap their fingers.

1 - Every single person in Israel. You. Me. All of us. Every single one of us needs to resolve to stand firm, so that the deaths of 22,993 heroes was not in vain. All it needs is for every single one of us, alone, to resolve that no matter what happens, we will never walk off into the night, we will never, ever walk off without a fight. When our neighbors on all sides cry for our death and destruction, all we need is for every individual in Israel to stand and say "I'm not going anywhere".

We may disagree politically, we may disagree ideologically. We may come from different ethnic backgrounds and have different financial standings. But we must remind those that would wish us dead that we are all one. There are nearly 8 million individuals in Israel, but we are all one. We remember that on this day, when we stand still. Our entire nation is one. We need to remember that the other 364 days of the year, that we are all one. We may or may not be God's chosen people. We may not always be right in our actions, but we're not always wrong, either. If we stand as one, no matter who tries to destroy us, we will never perish. For we, Israel, are one.

It says in Isaiah 2:4 "He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." Later on in Isaiah 11:6 says "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them."

But although Isaiah brings us promises of not only an end to war, but of peace, later on, Isaiah 62:6 says "I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night."

We can never forget that we must stand firm and guard the gates and walls of our cities and our countries. 22,993 of our watchmen have done their jobs so we may sleep peacefully. May we not have to add even one more name to that sad list, may we live to see Isaiah's prophecy, the same prophecy written on the walls of the United Nations building in New York, come true. But until that day comes, we must, as one support the watchmen on the walls.