On the night between Sunday and Monday, while riding in a tank on the northern front, Yinon Fleischman fell.
An armored soldier in the reserves, father, brother, son, teacher, and also my cousin.
Yinon was not a cute man. Like many heroes of this country, he gave his life at an "older" age, 31 years old at the time of his death.
But Yinon was a cute man. A man of letters and thought, a beloved educator, an educated and broad-minded soul, creative and original, who radiated wisdom and love to everything in her path. An aspiring and peace-seeking figure who abhors war, but stands up to defend the people and the country when necessary.
At the funeral, during his father's eulogy in a broken voice, an alarm sawed off sadness and grief. Dozens of family members and acquaintances lay on the floor in front of the open grave, with their heads hidden as much as possible, weeping heartbreakingly.
It was a surreal sight, like most of the sights that have accompanied the citizens of Israel over the past three weeks, one to which we have almost become accustomed. When the permit was granted, everyone began to cry standing up, and Yinon was buried in the soil of Mount Herzl surrounded by a terrifying amount of fresh graves. More cute men and cute maidens who fell in the heavy battle, a sight that is almost indigestible.
A week before Yinon's fall, two abductees from Hamas captivity, Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper, both over the age of 80, were returned to Israel. Upon liberation, a press conference was held at Ichilov Hospital in which Mrs. Lifshitz spoke about her experiences from the inferno.
The incident drew harsh criticism and anger, both for placing Lifshitz in front of information-hungry journalists the day after her return, and for messages she expressed that supposedly served Hamas' sick propaganda efforts.
Mrs. Lifshitz, like Yinon, always demanded peace and goodness. Before the abduction, she used to drive Gaza residents to Israeli hospitals for medical treatment. Her partner in the humanitarian activity was her husband, Oded, who remained imprisoned by Hamas terrorists.
We encounter a series of difficult plays that require time and a process of digestion and processing. There is no time, there is only pain and difficulty.
We need to forgive ourselves, reduce the intensity of criticism, controversy, rigidity, and obsessive error-finding. Understanding our situation, a hug and a tear - and not making accusations, even if they are justified
In this reality, endless compassion is required, the kind that Yocheved Lifshitz and Yinon Fleischmann spread to the world, relief with ourselves even if we make mistakes. Who can know the exact way to deal with the return of an elderly abductee who is only a sliver of the number of abductees still in Gaza, who can avoid a mistake in handling such a shocking event.
We need to forgive ourselves, reduce the intensity of criticism, controversy, rigidity, and obsessive error-finding. Understanding our situation, a hug and a tear – and not making accusations, even if they are justified.
This is the will of Yinon and those buried around him under mounds of earth on which no tombstone has yet been placed, and this is the message to the lives of figures like Yocheved Lifshitz. It is permissible to give up a little to ourselves, to whisper instead of shout, to have compassion instead of anger at our people and our country.
For every time under heaven, now inwardly it is a time for a good eye, for compassion and inclusion, a time for tears and mercy - not judgment and anger.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us