Here is another nice Yom Ha'Zikaron initative, this time from the haredi community of Bat Yam. The kollel men in the city are learning and davening today in the memory of the 600 Bat Yam people who have fallen in the various wars and incidents in the history of Israel.

The municipality of Bat Yam has supplied the list of names of the fallen for this project. As well, in addition to this, many avreichim have also decided to pick a specific fallen soldier from the list, learn a bit about the soldiers life, learn specifically in his (or her) memory, and also make a connection with that soldiers family. And, if necessary, the avreich will also say kaddish for the soldier if there is not someone in the family available to do so.

The project was put together at the initiative of Uri Buskila, the deputy mayor and memalei makom, who said that Bat Yam is a special city with great diversity including many who have returned to do tshuva along with many kollels and haredim. They wanted to do something to connect the haredi community with the families of the fallen soldiers, but not by forcing anyone to do something against their beliefs. He says it is clear the haredi community also worries for and feels the pain of the soldiers and their families, and they came up with this project.

The NRG article describing it also describes one avreich who received a name of a fallen soldier and realized it was someone he grew up with 30 years earlier. A rosh kollel involved in the project related that the family he connected to had a son who fought in the Golani brigade and died during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002. This soldier died while trying to save the life of another soldier who had been injured in Jenin. He says he told the avreichim in his kollel that when we go to sleep at night, there are soldiers digging themselves in to positions in the cold of the night, in the snow, and in ambushes. These people are giving up of their lives for the people of Israel, and it is a great mitzva to learn and daven in their memory.

What a beautiful project! There are ways the haredi community, and other communities as well, can participate in the solemnity of the day, and it simply takes some creativity, concern and goodwill.