As I've written here often, I have profoundly vexed feelings about the State of Israel, its religious significance and the impact it has had on the Jewish identity of its citizens. But as with Yom Hashoah, Yom Hazikaron/Yom Haatzmaut is a day on which I leave behind all the nuanced thoughts and critical arguments. It is an opportunity to step back and reflect on our astonishing fortune to have been given the gift of sovereignty after 2000 years and on the debt of gratitude we owe those who have sacrificed their lives on its behalf. May we prove to be worthy.