January 2009 Bulletin Message
by Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro

For Your Consideration
Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro

Holocaust movies have returned. To name only three among many, “Valkyrie” (with Tom Cruise) tells the story of Nazis revolting against Hitler. “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” tells the fantasy of a German boy who can’t conceive of a Holocaust. “Defiance” tells the story of Jews who strike back against Nazis as much as their limited circumstances allow.

One wonders how many times the story can be told. The answer is that the story can probably be told as many times as there are people whose lives were touched by the Holocaust.

As some of you will probably recall, I myself mention the six million Jews who died during the Holocaust before the Kaddish at every single Shabbat morning service. I’ve been doing that since 1982, which means that I’ve made a comment about sanctifying the memory of our lost ones approximately 800 times. (I’m figuring about 30 services over 26 years.)
Sometimes, I wonder if I’ve said it enough. After all, the Holocaust is no longer something that happened in recent memory. It’s now an event that began 70 years ago in another century. It also happened to Jews who were very different from us. Their time and place was in many ways altogether different than ours.

But I can’t let go. Having begun to say Kaddish for them, I can’t imagine stopping. Those 13 year olds sitting at Bar/Bat Mitzvah services (born in 1995 and 1996!) need to hear the number – six million. And we do too because the ultimate moral question of the Holocaust is as contemporary as Darfur. The challenge is whether we have learned anything from the Holocaust. Have you and I learned to stand up for what is right? Have you and I learned to live responsible, morally justified lives?

As long as those questions ring true, Kaddish needs to be said and the Holocaust remains as contemporary as today’s news.

Prior Bulletin Messages from the Rabbi are available on this site.

Prior Bulletin Messages from the Rabbi are available on this site.