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The Story of a People,
Through the Life of One Man

On a grassy hilltop upon Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem, sits the
almost unnoticed grave of Baruch Shapiro. Although his name is now barely readable and his relatives and friends almost all passed on, his story is important, because it mirrors the pain and joy of the birth of the Jewish State.

Baruch Shapiro arrived in Israel as an 18 year old after the Second World War with his father, Chaim, whose wife and other five sons had perished in the same Nazi death camp that these two were fortunate to survive from. Landing on the shores of Palestine (as Israel was known before 1948) to build their new life in the Jewish homeland, young Baruch was almost immediately handed a gun and a uniform and drafted into Israel's defence force. Whilst his son went off to fight for the independence of their new home, Chaim threw himself into the task of re-building the "cities, gardens and vineyards".

Baruch Shapiro distinguished himself during the War of Independence and became a popular and well-respected soldier. Within 10 months of the Independence of Israel being declared, Baruch was killed on the road to Jerusalem whilst guarding his post from an enemy attack. Many hundreds of friends and comrades came to Baruch's funeral, including the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces. The day was enveloped by an overwhelming sense of loss, because everyone who attended the funeral knew of the specific circumstances of the Shapiro family, and they all wished to show their solidarity with Baruch's elderly father, whose family line had come to a sudden, tragic end.

Chaim himself remained silent for the whole of the ceremony, and did not cry nor say any prayers. However, as soon as the flag-draped body of his son began to be lowered into the ground, Chaim Shapiro began to sing - quietly at first, but gradually louder and louder. He sang "Am Yisrael Hai" (The people of Israel live) over and over and over again. Then, all of a sudden, he began to dance, grabbing some of his son's friends to dance with him. The crowd looked at him in horror, positive that the father had lost his mind and that this latest tragedy had finally pushed him over the edge. People tried to get him to stop and sit down, but he pushed them aside and continued dancing and singing.

After a minute or two, the old man stopped and said to the clearly distressed crowd: "I know that you must think I've gone mad, but believe me, I know what I'm doing. Even though you all probably think it's outrageous for me to be singing and dancing at my own son's funeral, nothing could be more appropriate. You see, when the rest of my family perished in Poland at the hands of the Germans, their lives ended in silence. They were snuffed out like candles, and no-one heard or saw. No one took any notice of who they were or what they had achieved in their lives. To die in like that in Poland was an empty and sad experience. It was a precious waste of life. But this son," Chaim continued, pointing to the grave, "this son is different. Baruch lived to walk on the holy earth of Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) and he died defending Medinat Yisrael (the State of Israel) - Medinat Yisrael! a place we never even dreamed we would see in our lifetimes. My son gave his life for the People of Israel, so they could be free and safe. This is not a waste of a life. It is a celebration of a life - and that is why I sing today as I say Shalom to my last son. That is also why all of you should sing with me."

As soon as he finished saying that, Chaim Shapiro began to sing "Am Yisrael Hai" again, but this time the crowds around him began to join in, until every single person in the cemetery was united in a moving song of sadness and joy, with tears of emotion pouring down their faces. For a long time after they began, the hundreds of friends of Baruch Shapiro continued to sing loudly and proudly until the hills of Jerusalem echoed with their sounds of pain and jubilation.

Although the story of Baruch Shapiro is almost little more than a fading memory, it mirrors that of the Jewish people. Like the story above, the story of the People of Israel, of Am Yisrael, is a story of both great losses and great achievements, of pain and suffering, of despair and ecstasy. It is a story which unlike that of Baruch Shapiro, will continue and develop, and which similarly must burst out into song and celebration until we all declare: Am Yisrael Hai!

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