Yom HaShoah

Our Sorrow

As night falls on the 18th of April the State of Israel commences a 24 hour period of mourning for those murdered in the Holocaust. Called HaShoah, the Catastrophe, in Hebrew, the Holocaust took 6 million Jewish victims, of which 1.5 million were children. We must never forget the Holocaust.

Nissan 27th is a 24 hour period to pay homage to the memories of those that suffered, those that fought, and those that died. Israel commemorates this period with memorials held throughout the country in every community the evening of the 18th of April. The remembrance then continues the following morning at 10am when air raid sirens blast for two minutes across the country. For the duration of these two minutes work is halted, people walking in the streets stop, cars pull off to the side of the road and everyone in schools, on military bases, at places of work stand in silent reverence to the victims of the Holocaust.

We remember with great sorrow the short lives of the one-and-a-half million children who perished during the Holocaust. Some children managed to survive in hiding, however most did not. Plucked from their homes and deprived of their childhoods their lives were taken through cruel medical experiments, starvation, brutal labor or directly to the gas chambers. Their suffering is unimaginable.

Until recently there was no specific memorial in Israel to the children of the Holocaust. This February the Children’s Forest was inaugurated as a living memorial for all children taken from us in the Holocaust. The Children’s Forest will be vibrant and full of life, embodying the joys of childhood the children of the Holocaust were denied. Eventually, the forest will include paths in the forest geared towards children that will tell the stories of some of the Holocaust children, a state-of-the-art children’s playground with special facilities for disabled children, a memorial monument and, of course, one tree planted for each of the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust. It is a beautiful way to honor their lives.

The Children’s Forest is a brand new project in Israel and the first of its kind. JesusBoat.com would like to invite you honor the children of the Holocaust by having a tree planted in the Children’s Forest. For $19 the Jewish National Fund will plant a tree in the Children’s Forest and a certificate will be made in your name or in the name of a loved one you have designated. Please encourage your family, friends and members of your congregation, church or ministry to join us in reaching the goal of one tree for every child murdered in the Holocaust.

Together we can make sure this will never happen again. This Thursday please include the victims of the Holocaust, especially the children, in your thoughts and prayers.

From Numbers 6:22-27 we bless our children each Shabbat with these words G-d gave to Moses,

“May G-d bless you and protect you.

May G-d’s face shine toward you and show you favor.

May G-d look favorably upon you

and grant you peace”

Amen.

יברכך יהוה וישמרך:

יאר יהוה פניו אליך ויחונך:

ישא יהוה פניו אליך

 וישם לך שלום: