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Teaching the Holocaust through Story
How do we even begin to understand the experience of the Holocaust? How do we give our students insight into something we can barely comprehend? [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
On the meaning of liberation, for the 75th anniversary of V-E day
Seventy-five years ago, death camps and labor camps were liberated one by one as the Allies marched across Europe. On May 8, 1945, the armed forces of Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies. The Jews of Europe as a people were liberated, freed from their slavery and oppression. Free to emerge from hiding; free from the threat of arrest and murder; free to be Jews again. What does it mean to be liberated? [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
How will we remember the Holocaust when there are no survivors left? Ritual.
Today, another Holocaust survivor passed away. I do not know their name – perhaps you do. Unlike their families who were torn from them before their time, some of these people are dying of natural causes, and others, sadly, of COVID-19. We should not be surprised by this. The Holocaust ended 75 years ago. The youngest survivors are in their 80s.
Teaching the Holocaust through Story
How do we even begin to understand the experience of the Holocaust? How do we give our students insight into something we can barely comprehend? [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
On the meaning of liberation, for the 75th anniversary of V-E day
Seventy-five years ago, death camps and labor camps were liberated one by one as the Allies marched across Europe. On May 8, 1945, the armed forces of Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies. The Jews of Europe as a people were liberated, freed from their slavery and oppression. Free to emerge from hiding; free from the threat of arrest and murder; free to be Jews again. What does it mean to be liberated? [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
How will we remember the Holocaust when there are no survivors left? Ritual.
Today, another Holocaust survivor passed away. I do not know their name – perhaps you do. Unlike their families who were torn from them before their time, some of these people are dying of natural causes, and others, sadly, of COVID-19. We should not be surprised by this. The Holocaust ended 75 years ago. The youngest survivors are in their 80s.
Lessons from the Kausenberger Rebbe
The Klausenberger Rebbe, the leader of a Hasidic Jewish community in Poland, was separated from his wife and 11 children upon arrival in Auschwitz Birkenau. Left alone in the world, the Rebbe sat in the barrack, and for the first time in his life, he cried. He had...
Ester Koyfman – a Last of Kin
On Thursday the 13th of May 1948, the day before Israel declared its independence, seven brave women fell defending the village of Kfar Etzion. They were Holocaust survivors, and they were the sole survivors of their families. They were Last of Kin. The previous...
Yom HaShoah in a time of social distancing
Can we still commemorate the Holocaust on Yom HaShoah in a time of social distancing? Yes! Our new service, Light from the Darkness, allows us to honor the survivors’ memories and to learn from their experiences with a ritual of remembrance that can be performed in our homes. [redirects to the Times of Israel]
Baby steps: Changing narratives about Jews in Spain
I never really understood Chanukah until I went to Spain. Standing in a church that had been a synagogue until the Jews were all either expelled or murdered, looking at the crucifix hanging where the ark had been, I understood the Maccabees in a whole new way. [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
Our history can become our legacy
If the only stories we learn are Anne Frank’s and Elie Wiesel’s, then we will have a very shallow understanding of the Holocaust. There is a richness and a visceral connection to the stories of Frank and Wiesel, but these are but two among a galaxy of stories that comprise the individuals who experienced the Holocaust. [redirects to the Times of Israel]
Ester Koyfman – a Last of Kin
On Thursday the 13th of May 1948, the day before Israel declared its independence, seven brave women fell defending the village of Kfar Etzion. They were Holocaust survivors, and they were the sole survivors of their families. They were Last of Kin. The previous...
Tying the Threads of Compassion
Through the alchemy of storytelling, the ashes of despair in the hallowed pages of survivor testimonies are transformed into flames of remembrance, illuminating the path towards a more compassionate and interconnected world. [redirects to the Times of Israel]
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