40 years have passed. Most of Israel's citizens did not personally experience the shock of the fearful siren, wailing up and down, that at 2 PM ripped through the silence of the holiness of Yom Kippur. The nation was wrapped then in its fast, gathered in the synagogues, or in the privacy of their homes. The gates of heaven were not open that day, the prayers were not answered, the war broke out. The fire was on two fronts, the north and the south, by the time the siren sounded, the first soldiers had already fallen. Israel had made a mistake and was surprised, and her children gave their lives with amazing heroism and saved it from the valley of tears.
-- President Shimon Peres, at memorial ceremony on Har Hartzl for the fallen soldiers of the Yom Kippur War
thoughts:
1. Shimon Peres, a representative of Israel's leadership, speaks about God's involvement in a public ceremony and not just in one for religious people.
2. He remembered to blame God for the bad, the attack on Israel - our prayers were not answered. the gates of heaven were not open. How often, if at all, in a public ceremony, does he, or any representative of the Israeli government/leadership, give God some credit for the good?
3. Even specifically here: he blamed God for the failure - our prayers were not answered. And then when things turned around, he gives credit only to the heroic soldiers (and they were heroic - I am not saying otherwise) but makes no mention of God..
it's good that he thought of including God in the process, but it is a shame he only thinks of God for the bad things and not the good things...
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