The Obligation to Remember

The world observed the eightieth anniversary of the liberation of the, horrific concentration camps in Auschwitz-Birkenau. It was January 27, 1945, when the Red Army entered those death camps and finally ended that phase in arguably the greatest calamity to befall the Jewish People in over two thousand years. There were several backstories to the anniversary and commemoration this week. The most widely discussed story was the threat by Polish officials to have the Prime Minister of Israel arrested if he traveled to Poland for the event. The official stated reason for this absurdity was that the so-called International Criminal Court has indicted the PM for war crimes, and he is subject to arrest in any country that upholds the ICC ruling, the dubious charges notwithstanding. The aspect of the event that caught my attention was another element that I believe is not sufficiently discussed. 56 Holocaust survivors traveled to attend the ceremonies in Poland. Five years ago, at the seventy-fifth anniversary, over two hundred survivors participated in the event. The uncomfortable truth that is staring us in the face is that we are rapidly approaching the day in which we will inhabit a world with NO LIVING HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS LEFT. Let that sink in. The youngest members of the Auschwitz survivors are approaching 90 years old, and many participants from Monday believe the 80th anniversary would be the last one with a notable number of survivors in attendance. There cannot be any substitute for seeing a living and breathing survivor who was physically present in those terrible times to share their memories. A few years ago, here in Jacksonville, when our shul had the privilege of hosting the community-wide Yom Hashoah program, we struggled to find six living survivors who were well enough to attend the event and light the six large memorial candles. The Torah teaches us that we have an obligation of Zachor. This mitzvah is to remember what the evil Amaleik or any of its biological or ideological descendants did to the Jewish People. I have wondered why having a mitzvah is necessary for such a basic attitude of remembering evil. In recent years, I have come to understand that as time goes on, the Mitzvah of Zachor might not seem so obvious. A political party in Germany is currently campaigning "to move beyond the guilt from the past." Ironically, that is in Germany, which has turned out to be one of the world's strongest supporters of Israel since October 7. For most of the rest of the world, the events of October 7, the greatest massacre of the Jews, have reminded us that the evils of Jew hatred are not yet in the rearview mirror of history. With the day of no living Holocaust survivors just around the corner, the obligation and responsibility of Zachor becomes even stronger. Have a Peaceful Shabbos, Rabbi Yaakov Fisch