Remembering Holocaust Victims and Heroes with Music
In North America, Holocaust remembrance services and programs often include special musical selections in memory of people lost during the war and in honor of those who fought against the Nazis. Such music is profound and varied, and often was used as a vehicle of resistance. For example, “Zogt Nit Keynmol” (“Never Say That You Have Reached the Final Road”) was written in April 1943 in reaction to news of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Composed in Vilna by underground fighter Hirsh Glick and set to a Soviet cinema tune by Dmitri and Daniel Pokrass, the song spread like wildfire throughout Eastern Europe, becoming the official hymn of the partisan brigades.
Comedy Helped My Catholic Family Embrace its Jewish Secret
I was born in 1961, baptized, confirmed and given First Communion. But when I was 9, my father began telling me bedtime stories about his narrow escape from the Nazis in Vienna, his entire family murdered – how my maternal grandmother was assassinated in my mother’s childhood home in Bremen, Germany, on Kristallnacht and how, by a miracle, my mother survived.
Hatred and Bigotry Have No Place in "The Purest Democracy"
What could the actor John “Duke” Wayne, the very exemplar of cowboy culture and advocate for conservative politics, and Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn, the very exemplar of “prophetic Judaism,” renowned for his decades of service on behalf of progressive causes, possibly have in common?
How a Jewish Girl from Philly One-Upped Elvis
In 1956 when Elvis’ songs – “Don’t Be Cruel,” “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You,” and “Love Me Tender” – were hitting number one on Your Hit Parade, a Jewish girl from Philadelphia grabbed the top spot from the King. Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg – better known as Gogi Grant – the eldest of six children born to Russian-Jewish parents, reigned for five weeks at number one with “The Wayward Wind.”
Connected at the Core: Remembering and Celebrating in Israel
Growing up in Israel, I took part in my school’s Yom HaZikaron (Israeli Memorial Day) memorial ceremony every year, commemorating Israel’s fallen soldiers and terror victims. It was always sad and always painful, though I experienced it differently each time.
Lessons of Nuremberg: Stand Up to Hate and Remember Its Victims
Yom Hashoah arrives this year on the eve of two historic anniversaries: the 80th anniversary of the coming into effect of the Nuremberg Race Laws, which served as prologue and precursor to the Holocaust, and the 70th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials, which served as the foundation for the development of contemporary international human rights and humanitarian law. We must ask ourselves two questions: What have we learned? What must we do?
Life Lessons: When Your Congregant Goes to College
As a former rabbi for the Hillel at the University of Florida in Gainesville, I know firsthand that Jewish students are always touched by e-mails, bulletins, seasonal packages, and personal contact from their home congregations. If your synagogue is situated near a university, you can do even more to help students feel connected to their community and heritage. Here are 5 tips:
California Congregation Works to End Solitary Confinement
Temple Beth El (TBE)/Jewish Community Center, Aptos, CA, and the RAC have both endorsed the Together to End Solitary (TES) campaign, a nationwide initiative to build public support and political power to ban t
Five Ways to Participate in National Gun Violence Awareness Day 2016
On June 2, millions of people across the county will be observing the second annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day, also known as Wear Orange Day.
My Mother vs. the Angel of Death
When my mother was born in the Polish town of Dabrowa Gornicza in 1921, her Hasidic parents sought their rebbe’s advice on how to protect their infant from the sword of malach-hamavet, the angel of death.
They had good reason to fear. They had lost a son and daughter in the scarlet fever epidemic of 1909, which was followed by the outbreak of World War I in 1914, and the worldwide influenza pandemic in 1918. The angel of death, it seemed, was insatiable.