(Image is from the San Francisco Jewish Family & Children’s Holocaust Center)
I find it painful that Yom Hashoah comes so quickly after Passover. I think I want the untainted joy to last longer.
This year Yom HaShoah/Holocaust Remembrance Day falls from the evening of Mon, Apr 17 to the evening of Tue, Apr 18, 2023. There will be community observances around the world. In Israel citizens are expected to observe two minutes of solemn reflection. An air raid siren is sounded at 10am local time and all of Israel pauses for 2 minutes to remember those lost to us in the Holocaust. One of the most powerful images is the freeways suddenly stopping as motorists pull over and step out of their cars. There are a number of videos on YouTube. Here is one.
Teaching Children about the Holocaust
This is a tough one. My own children dealt with hard concepts differently and therefore I taught them differently. ALWAYS start gently and never push. The Jewish parenting online magazine, Kveller, has some good suggestions here.
When my daughter was 9 to 11 she was in the children’s choir at our synagogue. They sang at our shul’s Yom Hashoah remembrance event. After singing the children joined their parents in the congregation. An elderly woman got up and spoke about the deaths of her brothers. My daughter whispered to me, “Does she mean brother like Jesse?” (Her own brother’s name.) “Yes,” I replied. She put her head in my lap and fell asleep. I realized she couldn’t listen to this and found her own way to escape.
Some years later when my family visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, my daughter was old enough to see the exhibits. She was fascinated. There were raised barriers so that young children couldn’t see some of the more difficult elements. There was also an exhibit called, “Daniel’s Story.” It was about a Jewish boy and was said to be accessible to younger children. My son lasted about 10 minutes in the Daniel section and then asked to leave. He was “supposed” to be old enough to see it, but he wasn’t. Trust your children. Trust yourself.
Don’t hesitate to talk to your rabbi for advice. He or she will have dealt with this many times before.
Community Observances
CHAIM 20
The California Holocaust Awareness and Action Interactive Museum presents CHAIM 20. CHAIM 20, a mobile exhibit and teaching center for the San Francisco Bay Area, will be at Temple Emanu-el in San Jose from April 13 to 30.
The exhibit is open to public
Dates: April 13 to 30
Place: Temple Emanu-el, 1010 University Ave, San Jose
More information here.
City of Berkeley’s 20th Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day
Our featured survivor, Dr. Miriam Tasini, has a remarkable story to tell of her odyssey of more than 20,000 miles to safety from the Nazi’s. Additional speakers will include Hannah Weisman, the new director of the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, and Corinna Gould, tribal spokesperson for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan.
A unique candle lighting ceremony by survivors and their family members will grace the program throughout as will music by Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, operatic countertenor, and by Eliana Pliskin Jacobs, Yiddish singer and performer, and violin accompanist Samuel Seifert.
Date: Sunday, April 16
Time: 2 – 3pm
Place: Online
Reserve a spot here.
This FREE City of Berkeley program is developed in partnership with JFCS East Bay and JCC of the East Bay. All are welcome to attend.
Yom HaShoah: Holocaust Remembrance Day
On April 19, 1943, young Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto rose up against their oppressors. 80 years later, we are inspired by their heroic choices. We do not stand idly by.
Please join us for a virtual commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day and discussion with the co-creators of Ken Burns’ riveting PBS docuseries, The U.S. and The Holocaust.
Date: Monday, April 17
Time: Memorial Name Reading: 3:30pm
Program & Ceremony: 6:00pm
Place: Virtual Event
Register here.
Hosted by the San Francisco Jewish Family & Children’s Services Holocaust Center
Free
Contra Costa Yom HaShoa Ve Ha’Gevurah
Join the community in remembrance and solidarity.
First, second and third generation speakers will share “Stories of Resilience.”
To watch the commemoration on-line and for more information: underonetent.org/shoa23
Date: Monday, April 17
Time: 7:00 – 8:30pm
Place: In person at Temple Isaiah and online
Location: in the Sanctuary and on YouTube
The event is in partnership with Congregation Beth David, Congregation Emeth, Congregation Shir Hadash, Congregation Sinai, the Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Family Services, Jewish Silicon Valley, the Silicon Valley Holocaust Remembrance Association, and Yavneh Day School.
Yom Ha’Shoah Community Commemoration
Temple Emanu-El is honored to be hosting this year’s Silicon Valley Yom Ha’Shoah Memorial Commemoration. Please join us in-person or online as we remember our past and draw strength from being in community.
The theme for this service will be reflecting on anti-Semitism today, how it impacts our communities, and what we can to do make a difference. The event will include a panel of survivor/survivor children who’ll share their stories, including Sophie Weinzimmer and Ruth Litwin, a student speaker, and with the participation of the Jewish clergy of the community. We invite survivors and survivor descendants, including 3rd, 4th, generation children to participate in candle lighting and take on the torch of their fore parents in remembrance and fighting anti-Semitism.
Date: Monday, April 17
Time: 7 to 9pm
Place: Temple Emanu-el, 1010 University Ave, San Jose
More information here.
The event is in partnership with Congregation Beth David, Congregation Emeth, Congregation Shir Hadash, Congregation Sinai, the Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Family Services, Jewish Silicon Valley, the Silicon Valley Holocaust Remembrance Association, and Yavneh Day School.
From Generation to Generation: Remembrance, Renewal and Hope
Oakland Community Holocaust Commemoration
Join Temple Sinai, Temple Beth Abraham, and Beth Jacob Congregation with their clergy to honor the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, as well as the Second and Third Generation of their descendants.
Date: Tuesday, April 18
Time: 7:00 – 8:15pm
Place: Temple Sinai, 2808 Summit St., Oakland & Livestream
This is a free event. No need to register. More here.