Last week we [at Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy] acknowledged Yom HaShoah, the memorial for the millions of Jews killed in the Holocaust.
We had a modest but beautiful ceremony for our entire school, grades K-12, in which our fourth graders sang historical pieces almost entirely in Yiddish — the culmination of a months-long project beginning with reading “Number the Stars,” moving on to recognizing upstanders, and ending with examining life in prewar Europe. The goal was to remember the vibrant language and culture that was almost entirely lost during the Holocaust, and to focus more on how Jews lived rather than how they died. After the concert, all our students then engaged in peer-led group learning and discussion.
This is, of course, just a moment of community gathering, but our studies of the Shoah go much deeper in the classrooms, always in age-appropriate ways. But learning isn’t enough by itself — we also yearn for community gathering, reflection, processing, and mourning.
But this year was different in a very special way. First, Rabbi Aaron Philmus, with several of our middle school students, attended a fair at Notre Dame De Sion that was focused on religion and the environment. There, they presented a Jewish perspective on environmentalism. The fair was attended by hundreds of participants from all over the world. Despite the fact that it was Yom HaShoah, our students attended and represented us beautifully, without publicly mentioning the importance of the day to the Jewish people.
They were surprised at the end of the day when the students and faculty of Notre Dame de Sion held a short but powerful memorial for Yom HaShoah, lighting six candles and holding a moment of silence.
Similarly, fourth graders took a trip to Rockhurst University (Catholic, Jesuit) to participate in their annual Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Day to sing during their ceremony. To quote their opening prayer:
Eternal God,
We gather today to mourn the deaths of our brothers and sisters stricken by the Nazis.
We gather to raise our voices against hatred, violence, and torture.
And to again profess our faith in You.
Hear our prayers, that we, the people of Your Covenant, utter in faith.
I am moved to my core to hear how these non-Jewish communities acknowledge and remember the tragedy that happened to our people. Too often, it feels like we are on our own, forgotten, or despised by the world. To be seen and acknowledged as brothers and sisters and have our pain recognized publicly is incredibly powerful and meaningful to me. I want to thank the leadership of Notre Dame de Sion and Rockhurst University for their moving and heartfelt ceremonies.
Feeling the power of being seen by others, especially in our moment of communal grief, I am reminded of our obligation to bear witness and acknowledge tragedy that befalls those around and among us. In light of this, I want to take a moment to publicly see and articulate the pain and trauma that our broader Kansas City community is holding in light of last week’s events. We are appalled and hurt by the shooting of Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old Kansas-Citian who was shot in the head and arm through a locked glass door simply for showing up at the wrong address. The shooter said he was “scared to death” of the boy on his doorstep, looking for his little brothers. We need to acknowledge the terror felt by every Black child, mother, and father, that, God forbid, someone will be so “scared to death” by the color of their skin that their mere presence represents the threat of being killed. To the Black community, both part of and beyond the Jewish community, we see you, we acknowledge your pain, and we stand with you in your fear and anger.
There is no lack of trauma, fear, or pain in our world today. As Jews and people, we remain committed to working for a more just and righteous world, as our Torah says, “Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof” — “Justice, justice you shall pursue.” Just as we feel comfort in being seen, we commit ourselves to seeing the pain of others and working toward a more perfect world.
May The One who creates peace on high
make peace for us
for all Israel
and all inhabitants of the Earth.
Adam Tilove is the head of school at Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy.
