Shabbat Message #6

Shabbat Shalom Everyone!

"Shabbat is the day we stand still and let all our blessings catch up with us."

-- Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

The Significance of Shabbat in the Camps

In concentration camps, prisoners would designate a day as the Sabbath, the day of rest and religious observance, and after counting seven sunrises and sunsets, they would celebrate it again. A survivor in Auschwitz tells of a Jew who "on the Sabbath... would go out but only pretend to perform actual work...not many had this kind of attachment of Jewish religious practice."

Some prisoners even kept kosher during their confinement. Holocaust documents say, "we undertook an educational program among the refugees on keeping kosher...there can be no doubt that it aroused some of the refugees and stimulated them to keeping kosher."

Interesting Fact

Albert Einstein's prominence as an intellectual Jew and international celebrity placed a heavy price on his head. In 1932, German anti-Semitism was close to the boiling point. When Nazis posted Einstein's picture in a magazine with the subscript "Not yet hanged," Einstein realized his safety was compromised. He renounced his German citizenship and left Germany for America, where he settled in Princeton, New Jersey, as Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton. He became a United States citizen in 1940 and retired from his post in 1945. After World War II ended, and the Nazis were eliminated, Einstein refused to have anything to do with Germany, disregarding several honors bestowed upon him by Germany, as he could not forgive the Germans for the Holocaust. Einstein was offered the Presidency of the State of Israel, which he declined, and he collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann (first President of Israel) in establishing the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

When the Holocaust ended, what did the Survivors do?

The Holocaust aftermath left millions of refugees. Many Jews had lost most or all of their family members and possessions, and often faced persistent anti-Semitism in their home countries. The original plan of the Allies was to repatriate these "Displaced Persons" to their country of origin, but many refused to return, or were unable to as their homes or communities had been destroyed. As a result, more than 250,000 languished in "DP" camps for years after the war ended.

With the rise of Zionism, Palestine became the destination of choice for Jewish refugees, but local Arabs opposed the immigration. The United Kingdom refused to allow Jewish refugees into the Mandate (British rule of Palestine, 1920-1948), and many countries in the Soviet Bloc made any emigration illegal. Former Jewish partisans in Europe, along with the Haganah (Israeli Underground) in Palestine, organized a massive effort to smuggle Jews into Palestine, called Berihah , which eventually transported 250,000 Jews (both DPs and those who hid during the war) to the Mandate.

By 1952, the Displaced Persons camps were closed, with over 80,000 Jewish DPs in the United States, about 136,000 in Israel, and another 20,000 in other nations, including Canada and South Africa.

Estimates of the number of remaining survivors vary greatly and depend in part on how one defines a survivor. The Museum honors as survivors any persons, Jewish or non-Jewish, who were displaced, persecuted, or discriminated against due to the racial, religious, ethnic, and political policies of the Nazis and their allies between 1933 and 1945. In addition to former inmates of concentration camps, ghettos, and prisons, this definition includes, among others, people who were refugees or were in hiding.

There is an estimated 195,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel today, with 50,000 survivors living below the poverty line. Many have never received any restitution payments. Survivors face financial, medical, housing, and psychosocial problems, making everyday life difficult. According to recent published figures, 5 percent of Holocaust survivors living in Israel suffer from a lack of food, 40 percent said they feel lonely, and over 20 percent can barely survive the rigors of Israel's cold winter months.

ON OUR TRIP

It has been estimated that there are 100,000 Survivors living in the United States and that 20-30% of them are living at or near poverty levels. We are working with KAVOD, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide aid to Holocaust Survivors in need, to help Survivors live the remainder of their lives comfortably and with dignity. A project on our trip will connect us to the living survivors. To learn more about KAVOD, please go to their website at http://kavodensuringdignity.com/

HOLIDAY OBSERVANCES ON OUR TRIP

Yom HaShoah is observed on the 27th day of the month of Nissan and was established by the Knesset (Parliament) of the State of Israel in 1951, to be world Jewry's Annual Remembrance Day for victims of the Holocaust. This is one of only four new official days that has been added to the Jewish Calendar in more than 2000 years, the others relating specifically to Israel, namely; Yom Hazikaron, commemorating those who fell in Israel's wars; Yom Ha-Atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day; and Yom Yerushalayim, remembering the reunification of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War.

Yom Hazikaron (ISRAEL MEMORIAL DAY) is an Israeli national holiday, observed on the 4th day of the month of Iyar of the Hebrew calendar. This holiday honors veterans and fallen military personnel of the Israel Defense Forces and other Israeli security services who died in the modern Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as fallen members of the Jewish Brigade, and of the various paramilitary organization of the Yishuv, such as the Haganah and Irgun, who died before the establishment of Israel. Yom Hazikaron also commemorates civilians murdered by acts of terrorism.

Yom Ha'atzmaut is celebrated on the fifth day of the month of Iyar, which is the Hebrew date of the formal establishment of the State of Israel, when members of the "provisional government" read and signed a Declaration of Independence in Tel Aviv. The original date corresponded to May 14, 1948.

Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) is an Israeli national holiday, observed on the 28th day of Iyar, commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in June 1967. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared Jerusalem Day a minor religious holiday to thank God for the Six-Day victory and for answering the 2,000-year-old prayer of "Next Year in Jerusalem."

SOME SITES WE WILL VISIT IN ISRAEL

Masada is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. It is the place where the last Jewish stronghold against Roman invasion stood.

Ein Bokek is a canyon-like gorge with water springs and unique fauna and flora. The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the East and Israel and the West Bank to the West. Its surface and shores are 1,388 ft. below sea level , the lowest elevation on the Earth 's surface on dry land.

The Western Wall or Kotel is located in the Old City of Jerusalem at the foot of the Western side of the Temple Mount. It was one of the four walls that King Herod built to support the 1,555,000 square foot plaza on which the Temple stood.

Mahane Yehuda is also known as The Shuk, because it's the largest shopping market in Jerusalem. To view great videos of the market, go to Youtube.com and type in Mahane Yehuda. There are several videos to view.

Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, is the building where David Ben-Gurion declared Israel's Independence on May 14, 1948.

Nachalot Binyamin Market is a festival of arts, crafts, pottery, and street performances. You can find jewelry, painted ceramics, special toys, lampshades, Judaica and a variety of objects.

May we all be blessed this Shabbat and always, with peace, good health and happiness.

B'Shalom,

Sherrie Stalarow, Director

BBYO March of the Living