Yom Hashoah Commemoration Temple B nai Sholom Compiled by Rabbi Bahar 1 P a g e
In her testimony at the Eichmann trial, Rivkah Kuper describes the lighting of the Shabbat candles at Aushwitz: "When we arrived on the 18th of January, 1943 we were put into blocks at Birkenau. There had previously been horse stables Among the first things we sought were two ends of candles. Friday night we gathered together on the top tier of our block. There were then about 10 or 12 girls We lit the candles and began quietly to sing Sabbath songs We heard choked sobbing from the tiers of the bunks all around us. At first we were frightened, and then we understood. Jewish women, who had been imprisoned for months, some of them years, gathered around us and listened to the songs. Some asked us if they might also recite the blessing over the candles From then on, every Shabbat we lit candles. We had no bread, there was nothing to eat, but somehow we managed to get the candles." Baruch atah, Adonai, Eloheinu, melech haolam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Shabbat. Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who hallows us with mitzvot, commanding us to kindle the light of Shabbat. 2 P a g e
Prayer for Yom HaShoah Composed by the Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks Today, on Yom HaShoah, we remember the victims of the greatest crime of man against man the young, the old, the innocent, the million and a half children, starved, shot, given lethal injections, gassed, burned and turned to ash, because they were deemed guilty of the crime of being different. We remember what happens when hate takes hold of the human heart and turns it to stone; what happens when victims cry for help and there is no one listening; what happens when humanity fails to recognize that those who are not in our image are none the less in God s image. We remember and pay tribute to the survivors, who bore witness to what happened, and to the victims, so that robbed of their lives, they would not be robbed also of their deaths. We remember and give thanks for the righteous of the nations who saved lives, often at risk of their own, teaching us how in the darkest night we can light a candle of hope. Today, on Yom HaShoah, we call on You, Almighty God, to help us hear Your voice that says in every generation: Do not murder. Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbour. Do not oppress the stranger. We know that whilst we do not have the ability to change the past, we can change the future. We know that whilst we cannot bring the dead back to life, we can ensure their memories live on and that their deaths were not in vain. And so, on this Yom HaShoah, we commit ourselves to one simple act: Yizkor, Remember. May the souls of the victims be bound in the bond of everlasting life. Amen. 3 P a g e
4 P a g e
5 P a g e
SMALL STATION OF TREBLINKA Here is the small station of Treblinka Here is the small station of Treblinka On the line between Tluszcz and Warszawa From the railway station Warsaw - East You get out of the station and travel straight The journey lasts five hours and 45 minutes more And sometimes the same journey lasts A whole life until your death And the station is very small Three fir trees grow there And a regular signboard saying Here is the small station of Treblinka... Here is the small station of Treblinka... And no cashier even Gone is the cargo man And for a million zloty You will not get a return ticket And nobody waits for you in the station And nobody waves a handkerchief towards you Only silence hung there in the air To welcome you in the blind wilderness And silent is the pillar of the station And silent are the three fir trees And silent is the black board Because here is the small station of Treblinka... Here is the small station of Treblinka... And only a commercial board stands still: "Cook only by gas" Here is the small station of Treblinka... Here is the small station of Treblinka... Władysław Szlengel Translated from Polish to Hebrew by Halina Birenbaum and from Hebrew to English by Ada Holtzman 6 P a g e
7 P a g e
8 P a g e
THE WALL Little Chaim builds the Wailing Wall from the wooden blocks, stronger and higher than the wall of the ghetto on Bonifraterska Street. No one can hear the police dogs barking or the lament of the ghetto street, behind the wall built by Chaim even the best shots can not destroy it, because behind this wall God hears little Chaim weeping for the destroyed temple of his childhood, barbarians did not spare a rag clown with the red nose, a plushy teddy bear, or a wooden swing in the backyard now crowded with other kids. Children's room with the colorful curtains remained on the Bonifraterska Street, little Chaim has only few wooden blocks to build the Wailing Wall. Yvonna Opoczynska-Goldberg 9 P a g e
Smoke From the crematory flue A Jew aspires to the Holy One. And when the smoke of him is gone, His wife and children filter through. Above us, in the height of sky, Saintly billows weep and wait. God, wherever you may be, There all of us are also not. Jacob Glatstein, trans. from Yiddish by Chana Faerstein 10 P a g e
11 P a g e
Prayer for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) -Anonymous Lord, remember not only the men of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted upon us. Remember rather the fruits we have brought, thanks to this suffering: our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, the courage, the generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown out of this. And when they come to judgment, let all the fruits we have bourne be their forgiveness 12 P a g e
13 P a g e
One Generation After By Elie Wiesel I no longer ask you for either happiness or paradise; all I ask of You is to listen and let me be aware of Your listening. I no longer ask You to resolve my questions, only to receive them and make them part of You. I no longer ask You for either rest or wisdom, I only ask You not to close me to gratitude, be it of the most trivial kind, or to surprise and friendship. Love? Love is not Yours to give. As for my enemies, I do not ask You to punish them or even to enlighten them; I only ask You not to lend them Your mask and Your powers. If You must relinquish one or the other, give them Your powers. But not Your countenance. They are modest, my requests, and humble. I ask You what I might ask a stranger met by chance at twilight in a barren land. I ask you, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to enable me to pronounce these words without betraying the child that transmitted them to me: God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, enable me to forgive You and enable the child I once was to forgive me too. I no longer ask You for the life of that child, nor even for his faith. I only beg You to listen to him and act in such a way that You and I can listen to him together. They are modest, my prayers, and humble. I ask You what I might ask a stranger met by chance at twilight in a barren land. I ask You, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to enable me to pronounce these words without betraying the child that transmitted them to me. God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, enable me to forgive You and enable the child I once was to forgive me too. I no longer ask You for the life of that child, nor even for his faith. I only implore You to listen to him and act in such a way that You and I can listen to him together. 14 P a g e
15 P a g e
Amidah Adonai, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise Adonay s'fatai tiftach ufi yagid t'hilatecha. א ד נ י ש פ ת י ת פ ת ח ופ י י ג יד ת ה ל ת ך 16 P a g e
17 P a g e
Atah kadosh v'shimcha kadosh, uk'doshim b'chol yom y'hal'lucha selah. Baruch atah Adonai, ha-eil hakadosh ק ד ו ש, ו ש מ ך ק ד ו ש א ת ה י ום ב כ ל וק ד ו ש ים י ה ל ל ו ך סל ה. ב ר ו ך א ת ה י י, ה א ל ה ק ד ו ש You are Holy, Your Name is holy, and those who are holy praise You every day. Blessed are You, Adonai, the Holy God 18 P a g e
May these hours of rest and renewal Open our hearts to joy and our minds to truth. May all who struggle find rest on this day May all who suffer find solace. May all who hurt find healing on this day. May all who despair find purpose. May all who hunger find fulfillment on this day. And may this day fulfill its promise ב ר ו ך א ת ה י י, מ ק ד ש ה ש ב ת Baruch atah Adonai, m'kadeish hashabat Find favor, Adonai, our God, with Your people Israel And accept their prayer in love. May the worship of Your people Israel always be acceptable, God who is near to all who call, turn lovingly to Your servants Pour out Your spirit upon us. Let our eyes behold Your loving return to Zion. Blessed are You, Adonai, whose Presence returns to Zion. ו תח זינ ה ע ינ ינ ו ב ש וב ך ל צ י ון ב ר ח מ ים.ב ר ו ך א ת ה י י, ה מ ח ז יר ש כ ינ ת ו ל צ י ון V'techezenah eineinu b'shuv'cha l'tziyon b'rachamim. Baruch atah Adonai, hamachazir sh'chinato l'tziyon. 19 P a g e
Modium Anacnu God of Goodness, we give thanks For the gift of life, wonder beyond words For the awareness of soul, our light within; For the world around us, so filled with beauty; For the richness of the Earth, which day by day sustains us; For all these and more we offer thanks.ב ר ו ך א ת ה י י, ה ט וב ש מ ך ול ך נ אה ל ה וד ות. Baruch atah, Adonai, hatov shimcha ul cha na-eh l hodot. 20 P a g e
Anne Frank was a young girl in Amsterdam, Holland during the terrible days of Nazi Germany. Two weeks before she and her family were discovered in the location where they had been hiding for 2 years - she wrote in her diary: "It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart. I simply can't build my hopes on a foundation of confusion, misery and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness. I hear the approaching thunder, I can feel the suffering of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think it will all come out right one of these days, that this cruelty will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again. In the meantime, I must hold on to my ideals for perhaps the day will come when I shall be able to carry them out." 21 P a g e
A Sermon in Music Remembrances from Schindler s List by John Williams By the Waters of Babylon arr. by David Kellermeyer words are from Psalm 37:1 Ani Ma amin arr. by Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory [reading by] When I am Silent by Joan C. Varner [reading by] Theme from Schindler s List by John Williams Lisa Wiggins, violin 22 P a g e
23 P a g e
For you spread out the heavens and established the earth; Your majestic abode is in the heavens above and Your mighty Presence is in the loftiest heights. You are our God and there is none else. In truth You are our Sovereign without compare, as is written in Your Torah: Know then this day and take it to heart that Adonai is surely God in the heavens above and on the earth below. There is none else. 24 P a g e
In Jewish life we light a candle on the anniversary of a death of a loved one. We cannot here light 6 million candles, dear as the memory is to us of every one of our martyred dead. Let us then light six candles - one for each million. Let the light of these candles signify that we remember - that we shall never forget. Their memory shall burn bright throughout all time. As long as we live, they will live; for they are now 6 million parts of us and we remember them. אל מלא רחמים דיין אלמנות ואבי יתומים אל נא תחשה ותתאפק לדם שנשפך כמים המצא מנוחה נכונה על כנפי השכינה, במעלות קדושים וטהורים, כזהר הרקיע מאירים ומזהירים לנשמותיהם של רבבות אלפים אנשים ונשים, ילדים וילדות שנהרגו ונשחטו ונשרפו ונחנקו ונקברו חיים בארצות אשר נגעה בהן יד הצורר הגרמני וגרוריו כלם קדושים וטהורים בגן עדן תהא מנוחתם לכן בעל הרחמים יסתירם בסתר כנפיו לעולמים, ויצרור בצרור החיים את נשמותיהם יי הוא נחלתם ינוחו בשלום על משכבם ונאמר אמן 25 P a g e
El Maleh Rachamim / God, Full of Mercy God full of mercy defender of widows and father of orphans be not be silent or restrained regarding the blood which was spilt like water grant proper rest beneath the wings of Your Presence in the great heights of the holy and pure who like the brilliance of the heavens give light and shine for the souls of multitudes of thousands, men, women, boys and girls who were killed, and slaughtered, and burnt, and suffocated, and buried alive in the lands touched by the hand of the German oppressor and its followers all of them holy and pure may the Garden of Eden be their resting place therefore, may the Master of mercy shelter them in the shelter of His wings for eternity and bind their souls with the bond of life God is their inheritance and may they find peaceful repose in their resting place and let us say: Amen 26 P a g e
27 P a g e
The Kiddush If they could not avoid working, there were other ways in which the Jews of the ghetto and the camps were able to mark Shabbat. If Kiddush could not be recited over wine, it could be over bread. Some did not eat their daily rations so that on Friday night they could have 2 bits of bread over which to read the Kiddush. Motzi over the bread 28 P a g e
Bird Song [reading by] By Paul Read He doesn t know the world at all Who stays in his nest and doesn t go out. He doesn t know what birds know best, Or what I sing about; That the world is full of loveliness. When dewdrops sparkle in the grass And earth is aflood with morning light A blackbird sings upon a bush To greet the dawning after night. Then I know how fine it is to live. Hey, try to open your heart to beauty; Go to the woods someday And weave a wreath of memory there. Then if tears obscure your way You ll know how wonderful it is, Oh how wonderful to be alive. 29 P a g e