Education should become more focused on actionable change, while the Holocaust can be incorporated into rituals with meaningful theologies attached to them

Rabbi Avi Finegold
FOUNDER, THE JEWISH LEARNING LIBRARY, MONTREAL

Rabbi Philip Scheim
BETH DAVID B’NAI  ISRAEL BETH  AM CONGREGATION, TORONTO

Rabbi Scheim: As we observe Yom Hashoah, this year marking 70 years since the end of the darkest period of our history, we are painfully aware of the effect of the passing of time on the number of Holocaust survivors still among us. 

We have been strengthened by the presence of those who have shared their testimonies of the horrors they experienced, as well as their memories of the richness and vibrancy of their communities that were destroyed. We have been inspired by their courage and tenacity. So many who survived have been instrumental in building our community institutions, and establishing and strengthening the State of Israel.

How will future generations face a time, when, sadly, there will be no more survivors to offer living testimony to the Shoah? Will they be ready to face a survivor-less future?

Rabbi Finegold: There seems to be a gap between the message sent by the Jewish community and the message received by the future leaders of the community. I am not as concerned about the fact that there will be no more survivors in the near future – that is the nature of history. We have no survivors of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, yet we have a robust system in place for remembering that tragedy. 

The current model of Holocaust education is not working. I often hear people express that the last thing they want to hear is another Shoah testimony or a scholar pontificating on what happened. The message being expressed is “Yes, yes six million. It’s terribly sad. But I’m here in Montreal and we have clearly learned as a society to police these kinds of things and prevent them from happening again.” 

This is an oversimplification, of course, especially considering the many genocides perpetrated in recent history, but it is not far from the truth. Very little of the current Holocaust education is focused on actionable changes. I think we need to start rethinking our model to change the response from “So what?” to “Now what?”

Rabbi Scheim: We continue to remember the Egyptian enslavement and Exodus and the destructions of the Holy Temples, because they were ritualized. Pesach and Tisha b’Av, along with regular liturgical and ritual reminders throughout the year, remind us of these early transformative events. 

Similarly, in an attempt to ritualize the Holocaust, my synagogue was instrumental in creating Megillat Hashoah, which we read on Erev Yom HaShoah. Our annual program focuses on the reading of the text, some of which is chanted in the traditional Eicha trope, in the Tisha b’Av mode. There are no speeches. 

Alex Eisen, my congregant, envisioned this project and raised significant funds to enable its production and translation into several languages. As a survivor, he understood the need to establish a vehicle to bring these essential memories into tomorrow’s world. 

Others have suggested fasting on Yom Hashoah as a means of ritualizing our Holocaust memories. And just as restaurants and entertainment venues in Israel are shut down on Yom Hashoah, a similar respect for the sanctity of the day would be appropriate in Diaspora communities as well.  

I do agree with you. Our remembering has to lead to activism, to adding our voices, our energies and our resources into leading the world to a better place.

Rabbi Finegold: I am moved by your congregation’s decision to ritualize this day and create powerful reminders that go beyond the typical synagogue response to Yom Hashoah. This is important for the future of Yom Hashoah, especially since many people deliberately choose not to observe it, claiming that Tisha b’Av serves as the umbrella for all tragic events in the Jewish calendar. 

The key to making Yom Hashoah into a day of transformation is to change the tagline for the day – and indeed for any thinking related to the Shoah – away from “Never Again.” The Egyptian slavery should never happen again. The destruction of a holy site and exile of a people should never happen again, either. Yet both events have more meaningful theologies attached to them. Perhaps this could be something you might begin to incorporate into your annual ritual – a message that creates positive work out of the senselessness of the Shoah.