By Rhoda Smolow
You've heard of an emotional roller coaster?
As our world and Jewish calendars pivot from sorrow to celebration and back again, I can't be the only one who feels something akin to whiplash of the soul.
It's been fraught these recent weeks, as our world oscillates from inflamed and divided to unified yet diverse, especially in the United States and Israel. Especially for Jewish Zionist feminists of all stripes. So this year, it's incredibly important that we come together, take a deep breath of spring and relish the way that joy and mourning are embedded in our Jewish calendars, just as they are a part of the rhythms of our lives.
At this time of year, we mark two commemorations. Passover brings us together with our families and friends to celebrate freedom and resilience, beginning on the evening of April 5, lasting through April 13. The second one, perhaps less well-known but hugely meaningful for us at Hadassah, commemorates the Hadassah Convoy Massacre, which happened on April 13, 1948, 75 years ago.
At that time, the only access to Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus was via a narrow road, the rest blocked off by Arab troops. On that morning, two ambulances, three buses of medical staff and three trucks were en route to the hospital to deliver medical and military supplies, escorted by two armored Haganah cars. First a mine on the road was detonated, then the convoy was ambushed. Out of 105 doctors, nurses, medical school faculty, students, patients and Haganah personnel, 78 were killed.
Each year in Israel, the Convoy Massacre is commemorated on 4 Nisan. On March 26 in the Memorial Garden of Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus, relatives of the men and women murdered in the ambush were joined by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, Director General Prof. Yoram Weiss of the Hadassah Medical Organization and Mount Scopus Director Dr. Tamar Elram. Speaking at this powerfully moving event, Dr. Elram said she thought the 78 victims "would certainly be proud that we are here and growing and accomplishing so much."
As we look back, we do so knowing it took nearly two decades before Hadassah Mount Scopus would reopen its doors and the city of Jerusalem would be reunified, in 1967. Yet in those years, Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America held fast to our vision, building a new hospital in Jerusalem, Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem. When Mount Scopus reopened, Jerusalem had not one but two Hadassah hospitals to bring cutting-edge care to all, regardless of religion or race. It is because Hadassah stayed the course, committed to bringing hope and healing to Jerusalem, that so many Hadassah miracles in the years since have been possible.
Observed in quick succession, these two commemorations remind us of the depth and breadth of our experience as a Jewish people and as part of Hadassah, an organization that through it all — protests and wars, terrorism and truces, division and unity — will keep doing what needs to be done. We think of the Jews fleeing Egypt, racing to get out before the bread could rise. We think of them in the desert, ready in the face of an uncertain future, grateful to be free and to have each other. We know their lives, their choices, their faith, these together make ours possible today.
Later this April, we'll again mark two back-to-back commemorations, one of mourning, one of celebration. Yom Hazikaron is a memorial day in Israel to honor those killed fighting for Israel, followed the next day by a very special Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, when the global community unites to celebrate 75 years of Israeli statehood. At Hadassah, we're celebrating all year long with Hadassah & Israel — Together at 75. The evening of April 25 will open the holiday, an emotional time for all of us who love Israel and are proud to support this democratic state we hold so close to our hearts.
During Passover, through ritual, we retell the story of freedom and escaping slavery in Egypt — the hope and perseverance that have helped the Jewish people survive, from the Exodus through the Holocaust to today's ups and downs of our democracies finding their way forward despite division and discord. We do this, steadfast in our commitment to hope and healing. And it's this message we must share with our friends around the world this week — for Passover, for Easter and for Ramadan. That's our Hadassah way. Passover sameach.