A little more than 10 years ago, I moved with my wife and children to live for a year in Israel.

This was (as with many things!) mostly my wife’s decision. She grew up in Canada, but had lived for significant stretches with her family in Israel. She considered those times to be the highlights of her childhood, critical to the development of her personal Jewish identity, and wanted a similar experience for our children. In all honesty, I had reservations about the plan; among other things, it called for me to commute regularly between Israel and New York. But in the end, my wife was entirely correct. Our year in Israel was a spectacular, life-altering experience for all of us.

Among my most vivid memories of the year was experiencing Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day). As one day melts into the next, the heavy sadness surrounding the Day of Remembrance suddenly lifts, and you are immediately caught up in the jubilant celebration of independence. On a more basic level, these two days — placed purposefully side by side — are the modern-day iteration of a narrative deeply embedded in our tradition: moving from darkness to light, from sorrow to renewal. Implicitly, it’s understood — one day could not exist without the other.

I saw firsthand in Israel how these days bring Jews together whatever their backgrounds. People mourn in unison, recognizing that the pain of a lost child, parent, or friend transcends political or cultural differences. Similarly, for at least one day, ideological disagreements are put aside and the whole country gathers together to celebrate the miracle of a Jewish state in our times.

It’s that sense of unity we hope to capture this week at dozens of events we support taking place on the Upper West Side and in Brooklyn, Long Island, and Westchester. Synagogues of every denomination, day schools, community centers, and more are coming together for concerts, carnivals, and other communitywide opportunities to celebrate everything Israel. I invite you to join in the celebration. More fundamentally, in bringing together diverse Jewish communities across New York, we seek to harness that sense of unity at a time when unity feels so elusive. Our even more ambitious goal is for the lessons of these days to inspire us always.

At 67, Israel is a country as complex, vibrant, and compelling as the people around the world who share in its history and are greatly invested in its future. And there is work yet to be done in realizing our aspirations for this land that means so much to us all. But for today, let’s come together to joyously celebrate the undeniably seminal moment in Jewish modern history — the creation in 1948 of the State of Israel.

Finally, consider spending time in Israel with your family. A week, a month, or — if life allows it — a year. And perhaps someday your children will come back with their own families and tread those familiar paths once again.

Chag sameach