from the enlightenment to the state of israel 453
Goren had fought in the War of Independence in 1948 and theatri-
cally blew the shofar at the Western Wall of the Temple just after the
capture of the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordan in 1967. His author-
ity was important in allowing remarriage by widows of soldiers whose
bodies have not been found. He permitted post- mortem examinations
of corpses when needed, solved problems involving relations with con-
verts and permitted Jews to pray in some (but not other) areas on the
Temple Mount. Goren had previously been Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Tel
Aviv, as the state also appoints chief rabbis in each city and town, often
providing or subsidizing buildings for use as synagogues in each muni-
cipality. Before either of these appointments, Goren had been chief
chaplain of the army, in which office he introduced a novel compromise
liturgy for the common use of Ashkenazi and Sephardi soldiers.^20
Compulsory military service for both men and women has provided
a unifying focus for most Jewish Israelis from the foundation of the
state, intensified by the need for them to be deployed all too frequently
in conflict. Since 1963, the state has added a day, within the mourning
period (according to the rabbinic calendars) of the counting of the omer,
of commemoration for fallen Israeli soldiers. The commemoration
begins with the nationwide sounding of a siren the previous evening,
with a repeat of the siren at 11 o’clock the following morning and the
lighting of memorial candles. The Yizkor prayer is recited in public cere-
monies and all places of entertainment are closed by law. The day is
immediately followed by the celebration of Independence Day on 5
Iyyar: the chief rabbinate decided that the mourning restriction of the
omer period should be lifted to allow for these celebrations, but by stat-
ute enacted by the Knesset, the day of Independence Day is always
shifted to Thursday if 5 Iyyar falls on a Friday or Saturday to avoid
celebrations leading to desecration of the Sabbath. There has been
intensive debate within rabbinic circles on the appropriate liturgy, for
which special prayer books have been published similar to those of the
major festivals, and to what extent the day should treat the foundation
of the state as a miracle like that celebrated on Hanukkah and Purim.
Under the leadership of Shlomo Goren, Jerusalem Day, which also falls
within the omer period (on 28 Iyyar) was instituted as an optional pub-
lic holiday after the capture of the Old City in 1967, with a public
assembly at the Western Wall of the Temple and the Hallel psalms
recited in morning prayers along with their accompanying blessings
to mark the distinctively religious character of the reclamation of the
Temple site for Jewish pilgrims. In April 1951, the Knesset decreed that