Yom HaShoah

This coming Sunday evening is Yom HoShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Each holiday that we have observed since October 7th has been affected by those events. Yom HaShoah, however, feels different. It feels different because the day is supposed to remember an event that should not even come close to happening again, and yet the atrocities that took place in Israel feel too familiar. It feels different because what began as anti-semitism on college campuses, students chanting phrases with historically antisemitic trope turned into the nightmare of the Shoah and as we watch college students protest across the country, calling chants that don’t even hide the antisemitic threats, it frightens us for the future.  

To observe Yom HaShoah this year, I want to focus on the good that is being done to fight against antisemitism, to praise the work that hears the call for “Never Again” and puts forth action to keep history from repeating itself.  

This week, the House passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which reinforces the use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism. The definition states:

“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Accompanying the IHRA Definition are 11 examples that “may serve as illustrations” of how antisemitism manifests contemporaneously, ranging from age-old anti-Jewish tropes, to Holocaust denial, to certain expressions of animus toward the Jewish State of Israel that may cross the line into antisemitism. (adl.org)

This is so important so that we can educate as many as possible what antisemitism looks like. It will also help keep our Jewish students safe on campus and Jews of all ages safe in the workplace by protecting us from what is legally part of free speech vs. what is considered discrimination.  

Below I have shared some resources to help make your observance of Yom HaShoah meaningful. Todah Rabbah to the Brotherhood as always, for supplying our congregation with the Yellow Candles you should have received in the mail. The meditation that came along with it is also below.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Blatt

Place the Yom Hashoah Yellow Candle in your window on the evening of May 5th 2024 at sundown and recite the following meditation as you light it:



As I light this Yellow Candle, I vow never to forget the lives of the Jewish men, women, and children who are symbolized by this flame. They were tortured and brutalized by human beings who acted like beasts; their lives were taken in cruelty. May we be inspired to learn more about our six million brothers and sisters, to recall their memory throughout the year, so that they will not suffer a double death. May we recall not only the terror of their deaths, but also the splendor of their lives. May the memory of their lives inspire us to live meaningful Jewish existences such that part of who they were shall always endure.

JTS Learning Series - Art as Witness: The Work and Remarkable Survival Story of Esther Lurie

May 6, 1-2:30 pm ET [Online]

Dr. Shay Pilnkil (JTS PhD ’13), Director, Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Yeshiva University explores the art and survival of Israeli artist Esther Lurie.

Learn More and Register Here

Sarah Mayerson, Grandmother of Staci Harris

Jamie R Willis, Son of Roslyn Willis

Rebecca Staller, Grandmother of Enid Gildar

Ferenc Gottfried, Father of Ilona Friedman

Rhoda Robuck, Sister-in-law of Harriet Chesler

Evelyn Greenblatt, Grandmother of Jeffrey Gad

Miriam Shanker, Mother of Bruce Shanker

Miriam Goldchain, Mother of Doris Wiener

Hortense Ellen Kiselik, Mother of Penny Breitstein

Joseph Halem, Father of Marvin Halem

Virginia Laffer, Mother of Dennis Laffer

Blossom Smallman, Mother of Gail Cahn

Sanford Pliskow, Father-in-law of Sally Pliskow

Anna Klempner, Grandmother of Michael Binder

Thomas Chesler, Husband of Harriet Chesler

Joel Wasser, Father of Shira Wasser, Yonatan Wasser & Ayala Wasser

Joyce Schonwetter Mother of Ronald Schonwetter & Sondra Sussman

Natalie M Arkin, Mother of Marshall Arkin

Anna Patera, Mother of Shelly Wine

Friday, May 10 Pizza & Pajamas Shabbat, & Shabbat Services

Saturday, May 11 Shabbat Services followed by a Kiddush Luncheon sponsored by Sisterhood

Friday, May 17 Family Shabbat Service and Potluck Dinner

Saturday, May 18 Shabbat Services and Shabbat School

Make a Minyan! 

Available to help last minute for a minyan occasionally? Want to be notified when someone has a yartzeit so we know we will have ten? Join our Kol Ami WhatsApp group! Click this link (from your phone) to join: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KiBtwSw7UGJ0ElQdwwxytp

Weekly Talmud Study with Rabbi Blatt.

Thursday at 10:30am - May 9 & 16

Join our Talmud Class - an all-levels discussion of Talmud.

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/624135476

Parsha Study with Rashi

Saturday at 8:30am - May 4 & 11

A weekly discussion of the Haftarah of the week.

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/795031104

Meeting ID: 795 031 104