This morning, the State Memorial Hall for Israel's Fallen Soldiers will be dedicated on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
The hall is built like a stone hill rising 18 meters high, with more than 23,000 bricks each with the name of a fallen soldier and the date he fell, with a candle to be lit on the day he fell.
In the hall there is a virtual memorial system operated by a unique application and a huge light bell, made up of thousands of metal bricks designed and manufactured by the Merkava tank administration, with the words “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears.”
The Hall of Remembrance at Mount Herzl combines the names of all those who fell in Israel's battles from the beginning of Zionist settlement until the last of the fallen. From the day of its inauguration, a Memorial Candle will be lit at the annual Memorial Day for each fallen person.
On the soldier's memorial day, alongside the personal commemoration brick, a memorial candle will be lit to symbolize the nation remembering the tremendous giving each soldier gave for the sake of life in the Land of Israel.
The memorial hall was planned and built for a number of years, while at the same time an effort was made to locate a mezuzah that would fit the entrance. Mezuzahs designed by the best artists arrived, but the request remained unchanged: “Bring a mezuzah that is attached with iron ties to the rebirth of Israel.” Accordingly, the Mezuzah to be placed by the Chief Rabbinate on the memorial was originally placed on the Old City entrance gates during the Six-Day War, following the break-in to the Old City and the unification of Jerusalem.
This mezuzah, placed on the gate in the historic days of the unification of the city, was witness to the soldiers entering the city in tears, after the tremendous mercy of heaven that was poured upon us during the Six-Day War.
At the entrance to the Hall there will be a “Ner Tamid”, an eternal light that burns always, together with an Israeli flag. Official memorial ceremonies will be held in the heart of the hall, and guests of the State will be invited to lay a wreath in memory of the fallen of the State of Israel.
Every morning a military cantor will conduct a memorial service for soldiers who fell on that day. The hall is located in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl, near the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. This proximity is meant to focus on the connection between the Holocaust and the rebirth of the Jewish people in its land.
Another unique application that will be launched soon will enable visitors to locate the memory brick of any fallen person and receive information about it. The Yizkor memorial pages erected on the road will show the pictures and names of those who fell that day.
Upon finishing his visit, the visitor can express his feelings, share what he experienced, make dedications, and light a virtual candle that will become part of a special 3D display in memory of the soldiers.
