How it's done in Israel

Just some quick thoughts about my first Yom Hashoah VeHagvurah here in Israel:

Last night we attended a ceremony that was put together by the city of Modiin. The 12th grade of a secular public high school here recently returned from a trip to Poland. They spoke movingly of their experiences there, and how it related to them personally. I was glad I went.

This morning, at work, most people went about their business as the siren sounded. I work in a chareidi area and that's just how it is. I was glad, though that a colleague of mine, who is chareidi, pointed out the siren to me (I was engrossed in what I was doing); she knew that I would want to pay my respects.

On television, many channels have a posting saying that they will return to regular programming at the end of the day. The channels that are working are only showing Holocaust movies and documentaries. Isaac and I watched The Pianist last night.

Tali decided to go swimming with her friend, but had to cancel her plans when we realized that all gyms (and movie theaters, cultural centers etc.) are closed today.

I put my huge Israeli flag out on the mirpeset (porch) today.

It was a quiet day. I performed a mitzvah that I had never before performed on my own today--I'll let you know more about that tomorrow.

And that's how it's done in Israel.