Wednesday night and Thursday, April 11-12 this year, are Yom Ha-Shoa-ah – Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel, and for Jews worldwide.
Here in Western New York, we join the Holocaust Resource Center for a morning of remembrance at Temple Beth Tzedek (621 Getzville Rd.), on Sunday, April 15, at 10:30 AM.
In this week’s Torah portion, we find the disastrous encounter between Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, and an unscheduled offering in the Tabernacle, the portable Temple in the desert. Nadav and Avihu approach the Divine inappropriately and are burned to death for their presumption.
In the wake of their deaths, Aaron was silent.
We often have no words in the wake of tragedies. As a Jewish community we work diligently to speak up against injustice of all sorts. We know all too well what happens when communities turn to the scapegoats of intolerance and xenophobia as answers to societal ills.
Through remembrance of our past cataclysms like the Holocaust, and vigilance and advocacy in the face of current situations, the Jews of Western New York unite through the Holocaust Resource Center and our revitalized Jewish Community Relations Council, both now led by Mara Koven-Gelman, to make the words “never again” continue to have powerful and imminent meaning.
Thank you to Mara for your efforts – we stand together with you in remembrance and in advocacy.
Wishing everyone a meaningful and good week,
Jonathan