Parshat Acharei Mot

Dear STOCS Friend:

Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah יום השואה) is a national day of commemoration in Israel, on which the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust are memorialized. It is a solemn day, beginning at sunset on the 27th of the month of Nisan and ending the following evening.

In 2009 Jonathan Sacks wrote:

‘There is one mistake we must never make, namely to think that the victims of persecution are its cause. There was a time when Jews believed that they could cure antisemitism. Were they not hated because they were different? Well, then, they would make every effort to become the same. One by one they abandoned the distinctive features of Jewish life. They integrated, acculturated, assimilated. But antisemitism did not end. If anything, it grew.

Those who hate need no reason to hate. Jews were attacked because they were rich and because they were poor. They were condemned as capitalists and as communists. Voltaire accused them of being primitive and superstitious; others called them rootless cosmopolitans. Antisemitism was protean and logic-defying. It exists in countries where there are no Jews. That is why Holocaust remembrance must not be confined to Jews alone. The victim cannot cure the crime. That demands the rule of law, a respect for justice, and a constant effort of education.”

How true his words were then as well as now. Jews are facing unprecedented attacks across the globe. Without exaggeration, there are many American college campuses where Jewish students are no longer safe. The images of the pro-Hamas students calling for the death of Jews and the destruction of the State of Israel should send shivers down the spine of any moral-minded human being.

Therefore, it is crucial to attend this year's Yom Hashoah program at Beth Shalom on Tuesday. The solidarity of the Jewish community on that evening will convey a powerful message to Syracuse and beyond: "NEVER AGAIN" isn't merely a phrase; it's a commitment we are dedicated to upholding.

Yellow Holocaust Candles can be bought at the shul for $7. On Monday night, light the candle and share it on your social media platforms for others to witness.

I hope to see you in shul this Shabbas as we have a CARVEL Ice Cream Kiddush.

To all Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Shore