Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Memorial Day

On April 12, 1951, the Knesset passed a resolution proclaiming the 27th of Nisan "the Holocaust and Ghetto Uprising Remembrance Day - a day of perpetual remembrance for the House of Israel." The date was specifically chosen to fall between the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the observance of Israel Independence Day.

I

In honor of this day, a number of customs have arisen in North America, most prominently, the joint observance of the event by synagogues and other communal organizations. Generally, these gatherings include not only tributes to those who perished in the Shoah but inspirational speeches from survivors as well as from members of their families. As part of the ceremony, we often see the symbolic lighting of the six yahrtzeit candles in memory of the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust.

Whether or not one attends a communal ceremony, many still choose to honor the memory of the six million in their homes. While no fixed liturgy or ritual has yet been established for Yom HaShoah, some light one or six nerot n'shamah (yahrtzeit candles) and recite passages relating to the period of the Holocaust and the heroic efforts of resistance fighters. (A selection from Siddur Sim Shalom appears below.)

If there are children present during candle-lighting, be sure to explain to them the significance of what you are doing, and, if you are lighting more than one candle, allow them to light one as well. Children might also be encouraged to read about the Holocaust and the heroism of the resistance fighters in age-appropriate publications such as "King of Children: The Story of Janusz Korczak," written by Lori Forman and published by the United Synagogue Department of Education as part of its series on heroes. Perhaps you might also use the occasion of Yom HaShoah to plant a tree in Israel for those who perished or to begin a memorial tulip garden (as did Morristown, NJ, USYers), since the holiday occurs at the same time of year that tulips begin to bloom.

II

The Holocaust was intended to break the chain of Jewish generations going back to Abraham and Sara. While it did not succeed in this goal, it did "erase" generations in many families, from great-grandparents to grandparents, and from parents to children. Today, few Jewish children have relatives who were alive during that period. That trend will only continue. It is therefore imperative that we work to develop cross-generational programming in our synagogues and schools, bringing Holocaust survivors to speak to our children. We must also take an active role in supporting Oral History projects, whether contributing stories ourselves, helping others to do so, or ensuring that there stories are heard. Lastly, we must do what we can to support the geneology projects being developed in places like Yad Vashem and the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., so that the chain of Jewish continuity may be re-forged. Museums dedicated to the Holocaust are being created in many local communities. Why not make it a family tradition to visit one during this time of year?

III

Following up on the success of their Yom HaShoah Yellow Candle Program, which has brought Holocaust memorial candles into more than 100,000 homes, the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs (FJMC) several years ago joined together with the United Synagogue to create a new scholarship program, "From Darkness into Light." Under this program, which provides teenagers with scholarships for United Synagogue Youth's Israel Pilgrimage/Poland Seminar, the proceeds from the successful Men's Club candle campaign are now being used to help educate youth about the Holocaust and give them an opportunity to experience Israel firsthand. Please encourage your synagogue to take part in the Yellow Candle Program and suggest to local teenagers the value of participating in this important program.

IV

From Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals, published by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue. (Supplementary reading, page 387, by Rabbi Jules Harlow)

Adonai, Master, Creator
who set the round course of the world,
birth, death, and disease -

Creator, who caused veins, brains, and bones to grow,
who fashioned us air that we might breath and sing

Remember that we are incomplete
and inconsolable, our vision clouded by ashes.

Remember the chimneys, the ingenious habitations of death where part of
Israel's body drifted as smoke through the air.
Remember the mutilated music of their lives.

We lament in fields of loneliness
for six million of our number torn away. Remember them.

There are some who have no memorial.
They are perished as though they had never been.
Forget them not.

Remember the landscape of screams
engraved at entrance gates to death.
Remember the unborn dreams.

Remember the terror of children, whose tears were burned. Remember the
agony of parents, whose blessings were consumed.

Remember the prayers of the dying,
the shame and suffering of the innocent.

Remember. We have not forgotten You
though all this has befallen us.

Remember the God-forsaken millions in a silent world,
their loneliness was matched only by Yours.

Who is like You, Adonai, among the silent,
remaining silent through the suffering of Your children?

Are You not God, Adonai, that we may hope in You?
Renew the light of Your creation, which has been dimmed.

Renew in Your creatures Your image, which has been desecrated. Restore the
covenant, which Your people have maintained.

Remember the hopes of the slain
by sending redemption to Your shattered world.

In spite of everything which strangles hope,
help us to continue the sustaining song of their lives.