Yehuda Amichai ~ Israeli Poet

Yehuda Amichai (May 3, 1924 – September 22, 2000) is one of Israel’s most beloved Hebrew poets. Because he was the first to write poetry in modern Hebrew, his influence in Israeli literature is enormous.

Amichai was born Ludwig Pfeuffer in Wurzburg, Germany. He grew up in a traditionally Orthodox family. As a young boy, and as Hitler was rising to power, his family made aliyah to the Land of Israel, which was then under the British Mandate. Later, he became active in the pre-cursor to the Israel Defense Forces. He fought in World War II in the British Army in the Jewish Brigade.

Amicha’s poetry touches Israeli life and issues. His poems often reflect the conflict of the secular and the religious.

Amachai died in 2000 at age 76.

Below is one of Amachai's poems.

Wildpeace

Not the peace of a cease-fire
not even the vision of the wolf and the lamb,
but rather
as in the heart when the excitement is over
and you can talk only about a great weariness.
I know that I know how to kill, that makes me an adult.
And my son plays with a toy gun that knows
how to open and close its eyes and say Mama.
A peace
without the big noise of beating swords into ploughshares,
without words, without
the thud of the heavy rubber stamp: let it be
light, floating, like lazy white foam.
A little rest for the wounds - who speaks of healing?
(And the howl of the orphans is passed from one generation
to the next, as in a relay race:
the baton never falls.)

Let it come
like wildflowers,
suddenly, because the field
must have it: wildpeace.


Translated by Chana Bloch

Shavout

Shavout is the Feast of Weeks and is celebrated seven weeks after Passover. The word "Shavout" means "weeks", and the holiday is so named to denote the time lapsed between Passover and the holiday. Shavout marks the end of the counting of the Omer. Biblically, Shavout is one of the three pilgrimage festivals. In Exodus, the holiday is called Hag HaKatzir, or the Festival of the Harvest. In Numbers, the holiday is referred to as Hag HaBikkurim, or the Festival of the First Fruits. Both names emphasize its importance as an agricultural festival.

Passover, Counting of the Omer and Shavout are all interconnected by the ancient agricultural practices. The omer ~ the sheath of barley ~ was planted at Passover and came to fruition 50 days later ~ on or about Shavout.

Today Shavout is associated with the giving of Torah at Mt. Sinai. This connection originated following the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E., when the Rabbi’s in exile linked the Shavout holiday with the revelation of Torah to the children of Israel. Tradition holds that all souls were present when G~d revealed Himself to Moses. Traditionally, the megillah of Ruth is read during Shavout to commemorate her presence during the Revelation. Ruth is Judaism's most famous convert. The Ten Commandments, as found in Exodus, are also traditionally read aloud during synagogue services on Shavout.

The synagogue is decorated with flowers for the Shavout holiday to mark the beginning of the harvest season. Jews also often stay up all night studying Torah, beginning at sunset at the beginning of Shavout.

Dairy foods are the traditional foods that are eaten on Shavout.

In 2010, Shavout begins at sunset on Tuesday, May 18.

Yom Yerushalayim ~ Jerusalem Day

Yom Yerushalayim commemorates the unification of Jerusalem following the Six-Day War of 1967. On the 28th of Iyar in 5757 (June 7, 1967), Israeli troops broke down the walls that had divided the city for the previous 19 years.

Following the War of Independence in 1948, Jerusalem had been a divided city, with barriers separating the Arab and Jewish suburbs of the city. After the Six-Day War, the two areas of the city were unified.

In the year 2010, the 28th of Iyar falls on May 12.