World War II
and the Holocaust ended 72 years ago and some people question why we
commemorate this somber day as the events we recall recede into the mist of
history. More and more survivors and
liberators no longer walk this earth.
For our young people who I teach in Hebrew School, President George W
Bush is ancient history to them.
I believe we
must continue to mark this day and make it holy for the following 3
reasons. The first is to keep our
promise to those who perished. They
wanted us to remember them and never forget what happened. We know the names of some of these martyrs
because Yad Vashem has been collecting these names and preserving them. But
there are others who will always remain nameless. When I visited the Warsaw Jewish cemetery with
teenagers on Ramah Seminar, we stood by a mass grave with no markers, no
tombstones. There were too many who died
of starvation, disease, and deprivation to bury one by one with the dignity
each one deserved. Elie Wiesel warns us
“anybody who doesn’t remember them betrays them again.” Today we remember those
we know the names and those who remain nameless and say a kaddish in their
memory.
Who would be
believe that anti-Semitism would be alive and well 72 years after the Holocaust
and into the 21st century, but we’ve seen an increase of
anti-Semitic hate crimes both here and in Europe. Yom Hashoa reminds us that the battle against
prejudice hasn’t been won and we must fight on. And just like Elie Wiesel we not only fight on
behalf of our own people, but human beings everywhere they are scapegoated, persecuted,
and murdered. Wiesel reminds us: “We
must take sides. Neutrality helps only the oppressor, never the victim. Silence
only encourages the tormentors; never the tormented.”
Finally the
third lesson Yom Hashoa imparts is we must be brave to speak to power and stand
for what is right and just. Once again Elie Wiesel encourages us by teaching
“There may be times when are powerless to prevent injustice but there must
never be a time when we fail to protest.”
World War II
and the Holocaust ended 72 years ago. That’s quadruple Chai, a hopeful sign for
a better future. I’ll conclude with one
last bit of wisdom from Elie Wiesel, “Hope is like peace. It’s not a gift from
God. It’s a gift we can give one another.” Let’s give the gift of hope and
peace to all who need it.
