Little-Known Gems of Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut

I was once practicing with one of the singers I sometimes perform with, and we were about to work on the popular melody for Mi Sheberach for the chayalim. While I was looking for the chords in my printouts, he said, “Let me find it quickly online.”

“You know what song to look for?” I asked him. “Yes,” he answered, “Mi Sheberach for the IDF Soldiers.”

“You are probably not going to find the chords for this,” I said. “You know, the melody is actually a tune of another popular Israeli song.” I assumed that he knew it. I thought everyone grew up on the song and was familiar with it. Well, he didn’t know. When I told him what the song was, I thought for sure he would know what I was talking about. But I was shocked again that he didn’t know the song!

OK, it happens. Maybe he just didn’t know or maybe he forgot. Let’s check with some other Israeli friends, I thought. So, I asked some Israelis in the community if they knew the song. And guess what? They also were not familiar with it. I realized that most of the readers here also might not be familiar with the song, so I decided to review it in this column.

We’ll get to it in a moment, but first some background.

Next week is Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day) of Medinat Yisrael. First, Israel will remember the fallen soldiers of the IDF and the security forces who fought for the country and sacrificed their lives to protect the State of Israel and the whole Jewish nation. The holy soldiers of the IDF protect every Jew all over the world. During Yom HaZikaron, which is one of the saddest days in the calendar, the whole country stops and remembers. Schools and workplaces are closed, and there are ceremonies all over the country which begin with the tzfirah (siren) to remember our brave soldiers. During the day, sad songs are played on the radio and many visit the cemeteries and remember the fallen. At the conclusion of Yom HaZikaron, the celebrations for Yom Ha’atzmaut begin with the Tekes Hadlakat Hamesu’ot, the torch-lighting ceremony, which is very impressive. We’ll talk more about this later.

Back to the melody of “Mi Sheberach Avoteinu.” The song from which the melody is taken is “Eretz Tzvi,” which was written by Talma Alyagon-Rose and composed by Dov “Dubi” Seltzer. The song was originally performed by Yehoram Gaon in 1977 as part of the movie Mivtza Yonatan – Operation Thunderbolt. It was the theme song of the movie.

Operation Thunderbolt (officially known as Operation Entebbe) was a daring, highly successful counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission executed by the Israel Defense Forces in Uganda on July 4, 1976. Following the hijacking of Air France Flight 139, Israeli commandos flew 4,000 kilometers to Entebbe, rescuing 94 hostages, killing the terrorists, and losing only one soldier, unit commander Yonatan Netanyahu, z”l, the brother of Benjamin Netanyahu. I’m sure if Yoni Netanyahu were alive today, he would be proud of his brother Bibi, legendary PM of the State of Israel who since October 7, has led Israel in perhaps one of the most important wars since 1948, the War of Resurgence, to historic victory over its enemies, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran.

In the Operation Thunderbolt movie, Gaon plays Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu.

When listening to this song, with its moving melody and the stirring words, you get the chills.

“Bachatzi halaila hem kamu, v’hiku biktze ha’olam

kivnei reshef chashu, hirchiku ohf, lehashiv, et kvod haadam.”

They got up in the middle of the night, and hit the end of the world.

Like sparks of fire they rushed, flew afar

to restore the dignity of man.

“El Eretz Tzvi, el dvash sdoteha,

El HaCarmel v’hamidbar.

El am asher lo yecheshe, she’et banav lo yafkir letzar

El Eretz Tzvi she’be’areha po’emet ir, midor l’dor

El Eretz em l’tabura, kshurim baneha b’tov u’b’ra.”

To the Land of Splendor,

To the honey of its fields,

To the Carmel and the desert;

To a people that will not stay silent,

who will not abandon their sons to an enemy.

To the Land of Splendor, in whose mountains

beats a city, from generation to generation;

To a motherland to whose umbilical cord

her children are bound, through good and through bad.

“Bachatzi halaila overet bisdoteinu ruach sharav

Arava yilemet tarkin az rosh,

Al asher im shachar lo shav.”

At midnight, a desert wind

passes through our fields;

The silent willow then bows its head

For him who did not return at dawn.

After the Second Lebanon War, another stanza was added to the song, in memory of gibor Yisrael (hero of Israel) Roi Klein, z”l, who fought and sacrificed his life to save his soldiers. Klein was an Israeli major in the Golani Brigade of the IDF. He was killed in the Battle of Bint Jbeil after jumping on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers. When he jumped on the grenade, he yelled “Shema Yisrael!”

This is the stanza that was added:

“K’shehiftzia shachar ba’ofel,

hu chiletz patzua mei’eish.

K’she’hushlach rimon, begufo sochech,

Lehatzil chaim hu bikesh.

Roi, Hashem yishmor alecha,

Al tom drachecha, al uzcha,

al Eretz Tzvi – shenishmatcha

shzura lanetzach b’beged yoma.”

As dawn broke through the darkness,

He rescued the wounded from the fire;

When a grenade was thrown, he shielded it with his body,

seeking only to save lives.

Roi, may Hashem watch over you,

over your innocent path, over your strength;

Over the Land of Splendor – to which your soul

is forever woven into its everyday cloak.

The Mi Sheberach song, which is the Prayer for the Welfare of the Israel Defense Forces, begins with the melody of the chorus:

“Mi Sheberach Avoteinu, Avraham, Yitzchak, v’Yaakov, Hu yevarech et Chayalei Tzva Haganah l’Yisrael.”

He who blessed our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, may He bless the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces.

“Ha’omdim al mishmar Artzeinu, v’arei Elokeinu, mi’gvul haLevanon v’ad midbar Mitzrayim, u’min haYam Hagadol ad levo haArava, bayabasha, ba’avir u’vayam.”

Standing guard over our land and the cities of our G-d, from the border of Lebanon to the Egyptian desert, and from the Mediterranean to the approach of the Arava – on land, in the air, and at sea.

My favorite performance is the one by IDF Chief Cantor Lt. Shai Abramson accompanied by the Pirchei Israel Choir which you can find on the IDF Rabbanut’s YouTube channel.

The torch-lighting ceremony that marks the beginning of Yom Ha’atzmaut is a very festive and special ceremony in which remarkable people in Israeli society are selected to light the torches, each mentioning their achievements and ending with the words “U’l’tiferet Medinat Yisrael!” (And for the glory of the State of Israel!)

This year, one of the torch-lighters is a truly remarkable person. A rabbi, rabbinical court judge on the Rabbinical Court of Tel Aviv, and the president of the Mechina Kdam Tzva’it Beit El, a preparatory academy where students learn Torah and train for their military service during the year before their enlistment, he is also a fighter in an elite unit of the IDF.

After October 7, at age 54, Rabbi Avraham Zarbiv left his house and his family and went to fight for the State of Israel. Despite his age, he chose to volunteer and serve shoulder to shoulder with the young soldiers. At that age, reservists are already discharged from military service, but Rabbi Zarbiv chose to volunteer and he is currently fighting in South Lebanon. He developed a unique fighting method which has saved many lives in the IDF, and he brings a unique spirit and serves as a role model for the young soldiers.

Rabbi Zarbiv began his army service in Sayeret Givati (Givati Special Forces), and as a reservist, he is operating the Caterpillar D9 in the Givati Brigade. He is a true inspiration – a Torah scholar and a warrior, the ultimate embodiment of Safra v’Sa’ifa.

So, what could be more fitting than the Givati anthem?

The Givati anthem is one of the nicest unit anthems – upbeat, with a great melody and good rhythm. It is also known as “Mi She’chalam Givati” (Those Who Dreamed of Givati). Written by Amos Ettinger and composed by Effi Netzer, the song begins with the famous brass intro.

“Mul orot shel zricha v’shkiot shel aviv, et kola shel haruach shamati.

Zo haruach asher mehalechet saviv, zo haruach she’sh’ma hu Givati.

Mi she’chalam Givati,

Mi she’nasham Givati,

Mi She’halach imanu badrachim

Shav v’chozer Givati,

Shav ve’omer Givati.

Im Givati hala mamshichim.”

Against the lights of sunrise and spring sunsets,

The voice of the wind I have heard.

It is the wind that wanders all around,

It is the wind whose name is Givati.

The one who dreamed Givati,

The one who breathed Givati,

The one who walked the paths with us

Returns and comes back, Givati,

Returns and says, Givati.

With Givati, we move forward.

If you search on YouTube, you can find many performances of the Givati anthem. Volume up! Enjoy.

Chag Atzma’ut Sameach!