26 Jan The Holocaust
Because of the sensitive nature of the enclosed photos, I only make them available with discretion; Tisha B’av and Holocaust Remembrance.
AN UPDATE (2025); Since the writing of this piece, yet again another tragedy has befallen the Jewish People, the Massacre of October 7th , 2023.
History repeats itself. We can see that throughout history where there is a lapse of spiritual connection of the Jewish People, tragedy follows.
The remedy has always been the same. When we bring in of more of G-ds Goodness, His Light by Living, Learning and Teaching the principles of Torah we will fill the world with Goodness and obliterate the Darkness of tragedy.
For many, many years due to the constant oppression of the Jewish People, much of our focus has been on the aspects of Discipline of Torah and compromising the aspect of Joy of Torah. The blending of these aspects of Torah is a purpose of Chassidism and the reigniting of the goal of Joy of Torah organizations like Chabad.
It is important that the world hear our voice, but it is important that our voice be combined with an act of ‘doing’… Mitzvoth, as the Torah teaches. Wherever we may be in our observance, we need to do something more. This is the key to ‘NEVER AGAIN’. >>
There’s a unique Hebrew term ‘pakod yifkod’ . It doesn’t simply meant ‘to remember’, but ‘to remember deeply’. We see this as it relates to Pesach, and we can see it relevant to the events of the Holocaust…. and to remember; ‘Never Again‘. The purpose of remembering deeply is to have an emotional and intellectually understanding , to know what was , and to transform what is, and in doing so incorporated Hashem in to our lives and the world.
There was no event as tragic as the Holocaust. Where there may be comparisons made of modern day events to the Holocaust, they may be only superficial circumstances… an academic exercise. The Holocaust was no such event.
I believe it would be inappropriate to use such a tremendously sensitive tragedy as the Holocaust to further an-other agenda. Doing so can cause a desensitization of the tragedies of Holocaust and I believe is disrespectful to those that have perished, those who will remember…and those in the future who may need to remember. G–d willing it should never be repeated.
Those who survived the camps and were liberated, received photo records that the Germans had kept of the atrocities of the Holocaust. The following authentic photo’s were given to my Aunt Esther upon being liberated from Auschwitz. She continued to speak on the Holocaust until she was 99 A”H. The first photo is perhaps the most perverted of all. It is a life size ‘model’ of prisoners torture in the camp, displayed as a source of ‘pride’ of the Nazi’s in the reception area of Auschwitz, for all visiting ‘dignitaries’ to see.
