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“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.” – Elie Wiesel

This week we added our voice to the global chorus of remembrance to commemorate Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. What struck me most this year was the prevalence of heartfelt connections many young people in our community feel to this day. For them, Yom HaShoah brings to the surface their commitment both to our history and to our future.

Those of you who had the privilege of attending our community’s Yom HaShoah event with me know that it was standing room only, with more than 400 people in attendance. Many of you know that each year Chaim Kornfeld, an Auschwitz survivor, leads our community in the Mourner’s Kaddish. This year, for the first time at this event, we were honoured to hear him share his very personal story. The performance of Yiddish songs is a highlight of this event, and for many survivors it is a meaningful part of their remembrance. Not only did they hear the songs of their youth that night, but they heard them performed by a youth choir. Learning these songs (and in a language that is not their own) is a beautiful way these young people honoured those who came before them, and essentially said that not only do we remember, but we promise to carry on. The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC) is instrumental in producing this important event each year, and our Federation, along with the Jewish Community Centre and the Province of British Columbia, is proud to support it.

Provincial support was also evident on April 16th, which was declared Yom HaShoah Day in British Columbia, and saw a commemorative event take place at the legislature. Thirty-five survivors attended and lit candles at moving ceremony. I was honoured to attend, along with Multiculturalism Minister Teresa Wat, MLA Moira Stilwell, and representatives from The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, VHEC, and Victoria Holocaust Remembrance and Education Society. I was proud to see how many elected officials and community members attended.

As we get older, we understand how precious our own lives are through the loss of others’ lives. Often, that guides us as we choose how to live. When we talk about what it means to remember the Shoah, remembrance can be seen as an entry point for recommitment. It is critically important that we come together every Yom HaShoah and remember as a community. It is equally important that the vibrant Jewish lives we lead every day, all year long are a homage to the loss.

One group that feels this keenly is the cohort of students we support each year on March of the Living. This is a two-week trip where they bear witness to Holocaust atrocities in Poland followed by a visit to Israel. The March itself is a two kilometre walk between Auschwitz and Birkenau, where they are joined thousands of their peers from across the world on Yom HaShoah. Each group travels with a survivor, whose experience, contributions and leadership make indelible personal connections for each teen. These students are in Poland right now.

Benny Freedman, a past March of the Living participant from Vancouver, shared his thoughts with us about Yom HaShoah and how the March of the Living experience has impacted him: “The March gave me an invaluable sense of appreciation for my future. The experience really grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me awake - it made me realize my potential ability, opportunity, and the responsibility that goes with becoming a young adult in my Jewish community. Yom HaShoah… is a wakeup call - a day when people step back and reflect on how fortunate we are for what we have, who we are, and why we are. The more important idea is to make sure our actions on the other 364 days are influenced by the recommitment that we give on Yom HaShoah.”

Even as we remember, there can be hope on this difficult day. Hope in knowing that while so much is gone, not all was lost. Hope in knowing that our people, our culture, and our traditions continue on. We are still here. We continue to do Jewish. We have a new generation committed to honouring our past and building our future. And tonight we will once again welcome Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ezra S. Shanken
CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver