Yom Ha-Shoah

Today is Yom Ha-Shoah (Holocaust Rememberance Day), and I almost forgot. I'm sure this must be a bad omen because the whole purpose of Yom Ha-Shoah is to, well, never forget. Usually I go to synagogue or fast or hold an educational program or do something commemorative. But it being finals I guess it kind of slipped all of our minds.

The Shoah of World War II is slowly fading into the distance, but must remain ever imprinted on our minds--not only the Holocaust, but the firebombing of Dresden, the area bombing of Tokyo, and the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Never forget is a call to action to uproot the sprouts of hatred we see growing today, for we know what bitter fruit they bear. Never forget really means never again.

It is not on the shoulders of the policymakers in Washington to prevent horror and destruction; it is on each of us. Never forget. Never again.

I believe in the sun even when it is not shining,
I believe in love when feeling it not,
I believe in God even when he is silent.
~a Jewish prayer etched into the walls of a
concentration camp holding cell

(us non-believers need only replace the word "God" with "the goodness of humanity")