Pesach and Yom HaShoah

It’s always hard to make the transition from Pesach to Yom HaShoah.

I know that the Israelis are good at it. They manage to go from Yom HaZikaron to Yom Ha’Atzmaut seamlessly.

That seems hard, it does, but not quite as hard, because it’s going from grief to joy. It’s the direction the human spirit yearns for, even if it yearns vainly. This one, though, going from joy to grief, while less aspirational, may in some ways be more natural — even the most wonderful lives generally end in decline.

Get The Jewish Standard Newsletter by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

This year, we are faced not only with this annual challenge — I know that Israeli rabbis picked this date, and I know that there were both politics and theology behind it, but I have no idea what they were — but also with the utter chaos of our world.

It’s hard to find the right balance between complacency and paranoia. Are we at risk? Are we overstating? If there is political violence, will we be targeted by antisemitism, or will the whiteness of the skin of most — but far from all — of our community keep us safe?

To be specific, was Governor Josh Shapiro targeted because he’s a Democrat or because he’s a Jew or because he’s an authority figure? So far, the information we’ve gotten seems to imply that it can be any of those things, or possibly others. But why do we have to worry about it in the first place? Haven’t we gone past that? Hasn’t the arc of history saved us from it?

The Holocaust still is in living memory, although every year that becomes less true. Its survivors have gone on to live full lives. They should not have to worry about it happening again.

One thing that those of us lucky enough not to have lived through the Shoah can do for the survivors is listen to them. Every single one of them has a unique story to tell. There was no one way of surviving it. If every person is a world, then every story is the history and philosophy and poetry of that world, and every survivor — and by survivor I mean everyone whose world was darkened and dreams were shattered and imagination was bloodied — deserves the respect of a focused, intent auditor.

We wish all our readers a sweet, liberating, sane, unchaotic end to Pesach, and that Yom HaShoah will help us all remember the history that we must never, ever forget.

—JP