Just Light a Candle

Last Updated on Saturday, 17 April 2010 02:55 Written by bryfy Sunday, 11 April 2010 11:56

Some would say that today is an inappropriate day for today’s posting. Others would say that there could be no better time – I will let you decide.

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom HaShoah (or to be more precise Yom HaZikaron La Shoah Ve La Gvurah – Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day). Today we must remember the Shoah, Lest we forget and so that Never Again shall such a tragedy occur again. But how? How should we remember?

Last week I was in Melbourne and I ran into someone very dear to me. I will refrain from using his name although he will likely be familiar to some of you based on this brief, but necessary, biography. C. is a a child survivor of the Holocaust, not much older than my own parents. Ever since I have known him, now almost 20 years, he has dedicated his life to orchestrating one of Melbourne’s Holocaust commemoration. After seeing each other for the first time in many years and catching up ever so briefly, he turned to me, and with a sense of despair and almost desperation said, “and we still struggle to get the young people to the Holocaust memorial ceremony. Here is someone who has tried, literally for decades, to bring the young people to remember the Shoah and almost (but not quite) admitting that he has failed in this mission.

Readers should be aware that Melbourne, has one of the highest concentration of Holocaust survivors of any community in the world, an extraordinary Jewish day school system, wonderful Jewish youth and young adult organizations, a vibrant Jewish student union, and one of the largest delegations to March of the Living – to name just a few of the features of the community that theoretically should all lead towards high turn outs of young people to communal Holocaust commemorations – and not the struggle that C. and countless of other Jewish community leaders around the globe face every year.

When I was involved in Habonim Dror we used to have a “joke” among the madrichim – if we ever wanted to get a group of Jewish kids quiet all we would have to do is turn off the lights and light a candle and if that didn’t work, we would just light six candles.

Well times are different, and candles alone don’t seem to be working. Nor do traditional commemoration ceremonies, filled with prayers, Yiddish poems, the obligatory cute children’s choir, and even the heart aching testimony of a Holocaust survivor – while all are poignant to those who choose to attend these ceremonies – combined seldom is this a recipe to attract large numbers, especially youth.

There have been many endeavors to commemorate the Holocaust in new and innovative ways. Some have been successful, others have been sources of much controversy. Here are 2 ideas, neither of which are new, but both of which I think are worthy or our attention – at the very least they should continue to spark discussion among Jewish educators and communal leaders.

1. Home Commemorations: Although not a new idea (I first learned of this idea from Mark Baker), the concept that Jewish memory works best when it is conducted in a home environment (a la the Passover seder) seems to resonate with those who have experimented with this idea.

2. Hip-Hop Music: Before you react to this suggestion, please watch “Adon Olam Ad Matai – God Almighty When Will it End?” performed by Israeli musicians Subliminal and Miri Ben Ari. And then watch it again, through the eyes of a Jewish/Israeli teenager

3. MTV’s recent effort to memorialize the Holocaust – or at least bring attention to it.

Perhaps these ideas are too raw today – but in the future, perhaps they offer a meaningful and relevant way to honor the memory of those who perished and those who survived. And how much better would it be if these new means of remembering were given the blessing of the survivors before they are no longer with us. Today’s youth are the last generation to come into direct contact with Holocaust survivors.

How do you and/or your community commemorate the Shoah that could be an example for others to follow?