Edited by: TJVNews.com

To commemorate the 81st anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, over 700 Staten Island public school students and educators watched Rising Up: Young Holocaust Heroes, at the majestic St. George Theater, Staten Island. Organized by the Wagner College Holocaust Center, the day encourages students of all faiths to stand up against anti-Semitism and prejudice. In addition to the performance, awards were presented to three outstanding individuals who have inspired thousands of youth with their commitment to Holocaust education.

Among those in the audience was Dani Roth, the granddaughter of one of the survivors Rachel Roth, who lived through the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Majdanek and Auschwitz. The play traces the pre-war childhood relationships, the growing discrimination of the Nazi era, and the courage of six survivors in Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. This is an impactful way to honor the memory of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, by bringing attention to the courage of their families and the heroism of those who resisted culturally, spiritually and with armed resistance. The actors onstage are Wagner College students drawn from those of all faiths and ethnicities who expressed how deeply touched they were to learn about the survivors.

Three awards were presented to recognize those who are doing work to fight hate in our communities. Rabbi Mendy Mirocznik, president of the Council of Jewish Organizations of Staten Island (COJO), was recognized with the Community-Building Award. Mirocznik serves as the executive vice-president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America. He is also a board member of the Bridge Multi-Cultural Project, of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the Alan and Joan Bernikow JCC. Imam Tahir Kukaj of the Albanian-Islamic Cultural Center, presented his award with words emphasizing the value of unity, solidarity and shared spiritual values in these difficult times.

Borough Arts Director Jessica Goffredo-Engelhart EdD, in the Arts Office at the New York City Department of Education, was recognized for her help in advancing the annual Wagner College Holocaust Art and Poetry competition. An educator for over twenty years, she is currently part of a national coalition of arts administrators leading Connected Arts Networks (CAN)— a grant to strengthen culturally responsive practices and leadership skills in order to better serve students.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, which began April 7th, 1994, Provie Umugwaneza Nkurunziza, a human rights advocate, author, and the youngest person ever to be appointed to serve on the Holocaust, Genocide, and Anti-Semitism Advisory Commission in Texas, received an award. She will be studying at the prestigious Seminar against Anti-Semitism in Oxford this summer.

These individuals have inspired thousands of youth with their commitment to anti-bias and Holocaust work. One of the young audience members noticed the awards were shaped like a tear, which she associated with the sadness and horrors of the Holocaust. A scene in the play also has a survivor, Romi Cohn, discussing how his family encouraged him to flee from Slovakia so one family member would be alive to say Kaddish after the war.

Keynote speakers were NYC Human Rights Commissioner Annabel Palma and District Attorney Michael McMahon. This program was made possible by a Community Projects Grant awarded by the NYC Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes and the NYC Commission on Human Rights, with generous support from District Attorney Michael McMahon. District 31 Superintendent Marion Wilson also presented one of the awards.

Lori Weintrob, director of the Wagner College Holocaust Center, explained the goals of the performance was to provoke deeper understanding of how the Holocaust happened and to promote empathy: “The arts can showcase resistance and resilience –our Wagner College student actors have memorized and learned by heart the exact words of six survivors who live or lived in our borough, your neighbors. When you hear these words from eyewitnesses, you too become an eyewitness to tragedy.” Director Mickey Tennenbaum, adjunct professor of theater at Wagner College, is a child of a survivor. “Rising Up” is a musical, with songs and words of prayer in English, Yiddish and Hebrew sung by an interfaith cast. The play was written by Theresa McCarthy, Lori Weintrob and Martin Moran, an Obie Award winner.

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began on the eve of Passover, April 19, 1943, a time where 50,000 remaining Jews resisted German troops and police that entered the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants. Among its leaders were Mordecai Anielewicz, Yitzchak Zuckerman and Zivia Lubetkin, the highest ranking female leader. Lubetkin is quoted in the play as a unifying force: “The feeling that there was a community of people who cared about each other, who shared ideas and values in common, made it possible for each of us to do what he or she did. This was the source of our strength…” After the war, Lubetkin and Zuckerman married and moved to Israel, where they founded Kibbutz Ha’Lachamot, the Ghetto Fighters House.

In attendance were schools from PS 1, PS 35, Tottenville High School, IS 61, PS 29, PS 53, Our Lady of Good Counsel and members of Wagner College as well as distinguished from the community. Other sponsors of the event include the Staten Island Advance/silive.com, United Federation of Teachers, Council of Jewish Organizations of Staten Island, Jay Chazanoff, Alan and Joan Bernikow JCC and the Jewish Community Relations Council

(JCRC).

The Wagner College Holocaust Center, founded 2014, has connected over 20,000 youth face-to-face with Holocaust survivors on Staten Island and in the tri-state area.

By: Menachem Posner

1. The Omer Count Is 49 Days Long

The Omer Count is an annual mitzvah. Every day, for seven weeks (49 days), we count how much time has elapsed since the second day of Passover (16 Nissan).

2. We Count Days and Weeks

On the first day, we say, “Today is one day to the Omer.” Once we reach the seventh day, we count weeks as well, saying, “Today is seven days, which is one week to the Omer.” On the following day, we say, “Today is eight days, which is one week and one day to the Omer.”

3. It Ends the Night Before Shavuot

After 49 days have passed (on 5 Sivan), we say, “Today is 49 days, which is seven weeks to the Omer.” On the following day, number 50, we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot, which literally means “weeks.” Indeed, counting the 49 days actually brings about Shavuot. This means that one who crosses the International Date Line during the Omer may very well end up celebrating Shavuot on a different day from everyone else.

4. Omer Is a Measure of Grain

“Omer” is an ancient grain measurement (equivalent to approximately 43 oz.). On the first day of the Omer count (the second day of Passover), an omer of the barley from the fresh crop was offered in the Holy Temple, and after that day, grain from the new crop was allowed to be consumed.

5. Count Standing Up

The verse (Deuteronomy 16:9) tells us to begin counting the Omer when the scythe first meets the kamah, “standing [stalks].” Noting that the word “standing” is said in connection with this mitzvah, the sages tell us that it is ideal to stand when counting the Omer.

6. We Say a Special Blessing

Like we would do before just about any mitzvah, when counting the Omer each night we say a blessing: “Blessed are you, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us and commanded us regarding counting the Omer.”

7. We Count at Night

The best time to count the Omer is after evening services, right after the new Jewish day (which starts at nightfall) has begun, so that you have a full day ahead of you. In the event that you forgot to count at night, you can count the following day as well, but you do not say the customary blessing.

8. Every Day Counts

Omer is a unique mitzvah in that it spans 49 days. In the event that you missed a day entirely, you should continue to count each night just as before, but you do not say the customary blessing, since it is possible that the missed day invalidated the completion of your mitzvah.

9. The Sadducees Counted Differently

Scripture tells us to begin counting the Omer “on the day after the rest day.” Tradition understands this to mean the day after the (first day of) Passover. However, there were once Jewish splinter groups that interpreted it to mean that the count must always begin on a Sunday, which follows Shabbat, the day of rest. This approach was thoroughly negated by the sages.

10. Each Day Corresponds to Another Spiritual Facet

According to the Kabbalah, we each have seven middot (emotional elements): chessed (“kindness”), gevurah (“strength”), tiferet (“harmony”), netzach (“perseverance”), hod (“humility”), yesod (“foundation”), malchut (“royalty”). Each of these elements further comprises all seven attributes. Thus, we have “chessed of chessed” followed by “gevurah of chessed” etc. all the way to “yesod of malchut” and finally “malchut of malchut.” This makes for a total of 49 micro attributes, since 7×7=49.

On every day of the Omer count, we work on ourselves, attempting to refine the parts of our own personalities that correspond to that day’s attributes.

11. It Recalls the Anticipation for Sinai

The Exodus from Egypt happened on the first day of Passover, and the Revelation at Sinai happened on the day that would become Shavuot. It follows that from the day of the Exodus, the Israelites eagerly looked forward to the events that would happen at Sinai, counting the weeks and days until the time would arrive, each day refining themselves a bit more and raising their spiritual sensitivity. When we count the Omer, we relive their excitement and anticipation.

12. It’s the Only Mitzvah that Spans 3 Months

The holiday of Chanukah, when we light the menorah each night, starts during the month of Kislev and ends in the following month, Tevet. Counting the Omer takes the cake, however, spanning three months, starting in Nissan, continuing through Iyar, and concluding in Sivan.

13. Yep, There’s An App for That!

Remembering to count each night and making sure to count properly can be a challenge. To help you with your Omer count (besides for Shabbat and Jewish holidays, when technology is forbidden), Chabad.org’s team has created the super-popular Omer App. Download it and start using it—you’ll be glad you did!

(Chabad.org)

Edited by: TJVNews.com

Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah in Hebrew) 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, according to the traditional Jewish custom of marking a day. Places of entertainment are closed and memorial ceremonies are held throughout the country. The central ceremonies, in the evening and the following morning, are held at Yad Vashem and are broadcast live. Marking the start of the day-in the presence of the President of the State of Israel and the Prime Minister, dignitaries, survivors, children of survivors and their families, gather together with the general public to take part in the memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem in which six torches, representing the six million murdered Jews, are lit.

The following morning, the ceremony at Yad Vashem begins with the sounding of a siren for two minutes throughout the entire country. For the duration of the sounding, work is halted, people walking in the streets stop, cars pull off to the side of the road and everybody stands at silent attention in reverence to the victims of the Holocaust. Afterward, the focus of the ceremony at Yad Vashem is the laying of wreaths at the foot of the six torches, by dignitaries and the representatives of survivor groups and institutions. Other sites of remembrance in Israel, such as the Ghetto Fighters’ Kibbutz and Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, also host memorial ceremonies, as do schools, military bases, municipalities and places of work. Throughout the day, both the television and radio broadcast programs about the Holocaust. In recent years, other countries and Jewish communities have adopted Yom Hashoah, the 27th of Nisan, to mark their own day of memorial for the victims of the Holocaust.

Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day 2024 will be on Monday, May 6th. The State Opening Ceremony will be held at Yad Vashem on Sunday, May 5th at 20:00.

The Central Theme for Holocaust Remembrance Day 2024

A Lost World: The Destruction of the Jewish Communities

The Jewish community, a unique, autonomous social unit that characterized Jewish existence in the Diaspora through the ages, was dealt a fatal blow by the Holocaust. Thousands of prewar Jewish communities had served as a fundamental and critical framework in the lives of the Jewish people.

The Jewish community, a unique, autonomous social unit that characterized Jewish existence in the Diaspora through the ages, was dealt a fatal blow by the Holocaust. Thousands of prewar Jewish communities had served as a fundamental and critical framework in the lives of the Jewish people.

The Rabbinic adage, “All Jews are responsible for one another” was not a mere recommendation, but rather a practical axiom according to which traditional Jewish communities shaped their institutions and by which their leaders abided. A community’s authority encompassed all aspects of life and mandated the complete allegiance of its members. From the moment of their birth until their final breath, in joy and in sorrow, Jews were affiliated with their communal institutions, which provided them with an identity, and a social, educational, religious and economic network via such established organizations as synagogues, courts of law, Mikvaot (ritual baths), and shelters for the sick and the impoverished. Community figures represented their members vis-à-vis the authorities and served as a conduit of information from those authorities back to the community. Despite the singularity of each Jewish community in Christian Europe and the Islamic countries, there were marked similarities in the structure and operation of the various communities.

The modern era brought with it dramatic changes in the characteristics and behavioral patterns of the Jewish community, due to the forces of modernization and the intervention of governmental authorities. In many parts of Europe and the Mediterranean basin, a new form of Jewish community emerged: a “congregation of ritual observance”, focused primarily upon the accommodation of its members’ religious requirements, alongside provision of their social and economic needs. This shift strengthened the status of the Rabbi, and the importance of synagogues and Batei Midrash (houses of learning), which became the principal communal institutions.

Alongside such religious communities, there evolved, from the end of the 18th century and henceforth. alternatives to the traditional community. In Eastern Europe, Hasidic courts arose and regional Yeshivot (Talmudic academies) were established, the first of which opened in Volozhin in 1803. At the same time, figures from the “Jewish Enlightenment” movement labored to provide reformed social networks to the Jewish community. These communities did not require official recognition by the authorities, as their strength derived from the traditional connection between religious faith and social structure.

From the mid-19th century, a diverse ideological, political and national consciousness was awakened amongst the Jews, giving rise to a new sense of collective identity. This consciousness influenced the nature of the Jewish community and was expressed in the creation of new voluntary social frameworks that served as a modern, secular alternative to religious communal existence, in effect creating a civic society.

On the eve of World War II, the Jewish communities in the shtetls, mellahs, villages, towns and cities in the East and West were replete with philanthropic institutions, political parties, welfare and mutual assistance frameworks, representative bodies that liaised with the authorities and non-Jewish society, Jewish trade unions and immigrant organizations. These in turn facilitated the proliferation of educational and cultural institutions, youth movements, sports clubs, libraries, newspapers, theaters, orchestras and choirs. This abundance existed alongside the traditional Jewish institutions: synagogues, religious courts, Mikvaot, educational frameworks such as the Heder (Hebrew school), Talmud Torah (elementary school) and Beit Midrash, charitable institutions and the Hevra Kaddisha (burial society).

With the rise of the Nazis to power in Germany, and subsequently upon the establishment of German hegemony over most of Europe and large parts of North Africa, Jewish society was forcibly plunged into an extreme reality. Faced with persecution and daily terror, the Jews fought tenaciously to preserve their physical and spiritual existence. Their sense of shared destiny, mutual responsibility and solidarity persisted as the cornerstones of Jewish communal life, even during the Holocaust.

The establishment of the ghettos in Eastern Europe, as a consequence of Germany’s policy of segregation and isolation of the Jews, turned each Jewish community into a distinct, closed administrative unit, cut-off one from the other communities and from their surroundings. Throughout the conquered lands, many veteran Jewish leaderships ceased functioning, and were replaced by new communal administrations, imposed by the Germans. From then on, community leaders were forced to implement the orders of the German Nazi regime, and were made responsible for a wide range of functions that had routinely been handled by governmental and municipal institutions: food supply, employment, housing, health and sanitation, and even spheres that had previously been antithetical to the Diaspora Jewish heritage, such as the police and prisons. At the same time, the community continued to bear its previous responsibilities of accommodating religious needs, and providing education, welfare and burial services.

The systematic murder campaign waged against the Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators inflicted utter devastation upon thousands of communities in the German-occupied areas of Europe and North Africa; entire communities were decimated, and in many cases were totally obliterated.

The post-Holocaust Jewish world found itself in a jarringly harsh new reality: millions of Jews had been murdered, and with them, an array of venerable communal institutions and a wealth of Jewish civilization had been obliterated. In many locations, survivors attempted, as best they could, to reconstitute and renew their communities. In Israel and other countries to which survivors immigrated, many formed Landsmannschaften, associations of survivors from specific places that served as communities of remembrance for many years after most of their original members had been murdered, their institutions destroyed and their survivors dispersed all over the world.

Hundreds of destroyed communities were commemorated in Yizkor (memorial) books. This was a monumental enterprise initiated by Holocaust survivors, together with community members who had left Europe before World War II in order to commemorate a glorious chapter of Jewish history: the Diaspora community.

The legacy of the Jewish community is one of the most magnificent and cherished treasures that Jewish history has bequeathed to us. The destruction of the communities during the Holocaust is a deep wound inflicted upon the body and soul of the Jewish people. Delving into the history of the Jewish community and studying its destruction helps to illustrate the enormity of the calamity and the catastrophic loss suffered by the Jewish people during and following the Shoah.

          (YadVaShem.org)