Most on Thursday, some on Shabbos, some probably do both and a lot do neither. This, as we have come to expect, describes the observance of Yom Ha'atzmaut during most years. While it seems comically Jewish that we in the diaspora cannot even agree on the celebration of the country's birthday, the fluidity of the timing of the celebrations speaks to a great kiddush Hashem.
I believe Harav Sholom Gold, one-time rabbi of the Young Israel of West Hempstead and subsequently the founding rabbi of the Young Israel of Har Nof, instructed his students to examine the online international list of days of independence. Every country but one has one celebrates its birth on one, easy to determine day on the calendar. Only Israel gets a three line entry, a date with an explanation that reads something like, "the nearest Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday to a specified day on the Jewish calendar."
As unusual as it appears, therein is recorded how Israel, with all of its dreadful secularism, places Shabbos ahead of what is the most important day on the calendar of any other country. (Upon closer scrutiny we can observe the inviolable twinning of Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut, which captures another Torah value, as well. That is, to always keep present the sacrifices of our forebears is part of every yizkor as we conclude our yom tov celebrations.)
Without in any way understating the preciousness of messaging the value of Shabbos, this moment gives us a tiny portal into our larger than life, times to come, mission of teaching and modelling Hashem's sovereignty. This mind exercise, to collect these portals of times to come, is one of the teachings of the Chofetz Chaim. In his essay "Tzipiso Liyeshua" he describes how he appreciated the advent of mass transport as Hashem's preparation for the ingathering of the exiles. The Chofetz Chaim indicated that this thought exercise is a fashion in which we sharpen our own pining and preparation for redemptive times and add speed to their coming.
Our expressions of gratitude during this year's Yom Ha'atzmaut should include our thankfulness for the gift of another such portal. The vaccination rollout which is the envy of, and hopefully will remain the goals, of the Western world, projects our teachings of the unparalleled value of life and the preciousness of personal social interaction. Once again, our ability to imagine how we can be an ohr lagoyim is strengthened and grounded.
That we merit to simply witness that which earlier generations could not contemplate with even this deceiving clarity is a breathtaking opportunity to express gratitude to the Ribbono Shel Olam. May our gratitude give rise to our deepest prayers that we will be the witnesses of the upcoming redemption, and may all those prayers be accepted.