Page 66 - big friday
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to recite the blessing.' Ben-Gurion said, 'That's out of the question.' And he ordered,
'Fishman! You wanted a state – you'll recite the 'Shehehiyanu'.'
A fterwards, at the museum, when I recited the blessing in front of the nation's
dignitaries – suddenly I saw Zisling remove a handkerchief from his pocket and cover
his bare head…
W hen my turn came to sign the Scroll, I wrote my name just like everyone else
had, but I didn't suffice with that; I wanted to add – but Moshe Shertok, who was
supervising the signatories, was alarmed and asked, 'Rabbi Fishman, what are you
doing there?' 'You'll soon see for yourself,' I told him. What do you think – he saw how
I added alongside my name four letters – 'bet', 'ayin', 'zayin', 'heh' – [an abbreviation
of the words,] 'with the help of God'…"
24. A haron Zisling: " Continuity and a new
beginning intertwined"
It's difficult for me to remember how it was then, but I believe I received the
invitation to the signing ceremony during one of the meetings of the People's
Administration, a few days before the session of the declaration," recounts Aharon
Zisling. He was staying in Tel Aviv at the time, and used to go home to Ein Harod
only for weekends.
He made his way to the museum by foot, although he had a car at his disposal. He
was accompanied by his wife, his brother, and his mother.
What were his feelings? It's difficult to describe them precisely. "I was in the midst
of an assortment of many roles, and the feeling was one of continuity and a new
beginning intertwined and interwoven with one another. In fact, the signing was
merely the external expression of the struggles I had been involved in before then,
and I knew that they still faced us."
A fter the ceremony Zisling emerged onto the street and walked with his wife to visit
her mother and his sister-in-law. He wanted to hear from family members how the
broadcast from the museum had been received. He spent the evening with the family.
25. M oshe Kol: "When the state was declared,
we breathed a sigh of relief"
"We knew exactly at what time the ceremony would be held in Tel Aviv, and so we
gathered at the appointed hour in the hall of the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem, to hear
the broadcast of the ceremony on the radio. All of us, the 'besieged', were tense and
64 The Friday That Changed Destiny
'Fishman! You wanted a state – you'll recite the 'Shehehiyanu'.'
A fterwards, at the museum, when I recited the blessing in front of the nation's
dignitaries – suddenly I saw Zisling remove a handkerchief from his pocket and cover
his bare head…
W hen my turn came to sign the Scroll, I wrote my name just like everyone else
had, but I didn't suffice with that; I wanted to add – but Moshe Shertok, who was
supervising the signatories, was alarmed and asked, 'Rabbi Fishman, what are you
doing there?' 'You'll soon see for yourself,' I told him. What do you think – he saw how
I added alongside my name four letters – 'bet', 'ayin', 'zayin', 'heh' – [an abbreviation
of the words,] 'with the help of God'…"
24. A haron Zisling: " Continuity and a new
beginning intertwined"
It's difficult for me to remember how it was then, but I believe I received the
invitation to the signing ceremony during one of the meetings of the People's
Administration, a few days before the session of the declaration," recounts Aharon
Zisling. He was staying in Tel Aviv at the time, and used to go home to Ein Harod
only for weekends.
He made his way to the museum by foot, although he had a car at his disposal. He
was accompanied by his wife, his brother, and his mother.
What were his feelings? It's difficult to describe them precisely. "I was in the midst
of an assortment of many roles, and the feeling was one of continuity and a new
beginning intertwined and interwoven with one another. In fact, the signing was
merely the external expression of the struggles I had been involved in before then,
and I knew that they still faced us."
A fter the ceremony Zisling emerged onto the street and walked with his wife to visit
her mother and his sister-in-law. He wanted to hear from family members how the
broadcast from the museum had been received. He spent the evening with the family.
25. M oshe Kol: "When the state was declared,
we breathed a sigh of relief"
"We knew exactly at what time the ceremony would be held in Tel Aviv, and so we
gathered at the appointed hour in the hall of the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem, to hear
the broadcast of the ceremony on the radio. All of us, the 'besieged', were tense and
64 The Friday That Changed Destiny
