A Time to Remember

The daily news cycle offers an avalanche of news stories that are filled with controversy and anguish. The news media knows that stories that communicate messages of kindness, hope, and optimism won’t boost ratings. The message of every silver lining has a cloud is much more like to be retweeted and gain traction in the social media world and beyond. For this reason, I was astounded at a most remarkable that caught my attention in the news that did not appear to be widely circulated. Ceremonies were held around the world to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day this week on January 27. This date was chosen as it’s the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Bundestag (German Parliament) invited Mickey Levy, the Speaker of the Israeli Knesset to deliver the main address to commemorate the vent. Levy delivered a heartfelt and emotional speech from the podium in the Bundestag. “Here, in this historic building, the house of the German parliament, one can grasp — if only slightly — the ability of human beings to take advantage of democracy to defeat it,” Levy said. “It is a place where humanity stretched the boundaries of evil — a place where the loss of values turned a democratic framework into racist and discriminatory tyranny. That is why it is precisely here, within the walls of this house, which stand as silent stone and steel witnesses, that we are re-learning how fragile democracy is, and are once again reminded of our duty to guard it with all vigilance.” Levy concluded his remarks by reciting the Kaddish from a Siddur that was used by a Bar Mitzvah boy immediately before Kristallnacht. He was visibly emotional as he concluded the Kaddish. The members of the Bundestag rose to give him a standing ovation. I thought it was nothing short of extraordinary that on the very same stage that Hitler stood to call for the completer and utter destruction of all Jews, the Kaddish was being recited by a leader of the modern Jewish State. It reminded me of the words in the Haggadah, שֶׁלֹּא אֶחָד בִּלְבָד עָמַד עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ, אֶלָּא שֶׁבְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר עוֹמְדִים עָלֵינוּ לְכַלוֹתֵנוּ, וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַצִּילֵנוּ מִיָּדָם. The translation is since it is not only one [person or nation] that has stood [against] us to destroy us, but rather in each generation, they stand [against] us to destroy us, but the Holy One, blessed be He, rescues us from their hand. It also reminded me about the fragile state of security that we are forced to confront regularly. It wasn’t long ago that we thought we had turned a corner on global antisemitism and the Holocaust was becoming a distant memory. It appears that may be wishful thinking as 2021 was the worse year for antisemitic attacks in a decade, seeing an average of ten incidents a day with the likelihood of many more incidents not being reported, according to an annual review published Monday by the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency. 2021 was “the most antisemitic year in the last decade,” the two organizations said in a joint statement. The average number of antisemitic incidents reported in 2021 was more than ten per day, the report found. Many in our community are asking more frequently if the unthinkable can occur in the United States of America. The Torah emphasizes the importance of Zachor/ Remember in regards to the evils of Amaleik. As many around the world paused to commemorate the Holocaust this week, the need to internalize the notion of Zachor is more relevant than ever. Have a peaceful Shabbos, Rabbi Yaakov Fisch