The timing of Yom Hashoah and Pesach blends recent history with the seminal event that gave rise to the Jewish People. As a child of a Holocaust survivor, both Pesach and Yom Hashoah evoke strong emotions in me. Our seders included in-depth conversations about the Exodus, the Holocaust and life in Poland before the war. My late father often expressed a profound sense of loss and emptiness, a result of losing most of his family in the Holocaust. He also exuded feelings of faith and perseverance. It was this latter quality that emphasized how faith can carry a person through any crisis.
Unquestioning faith was characteristic of the Jewish People’s initial response to Moses and Aaron in Egypt. Rabbi Simcha Zissel of Kelm noted that the Torah says, “The people believed” even before Moses and Aaron had proven themselves. This happened later when Moses and Aaron went to see Pharaoh and weren’t harmed by the lions that guarded the palace. Having belief precede proof showed the nation’s trust and deep connection with God.
The deep-seated faith cultivated in Egypt was evident whenever the nation faced a crisis. Whether it was developing new avenues for worship after the destruction of the Temples or coping with the difficulties of persecution, the nation found a way to maintain its connection with God.
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook suggests that this is why the Exodus is so dominant in Jewish liturgy. It’s recited in the Kiddush for every holiday and explored in depth during the Passover seder. Highlighting the Exodus reminds God of the exuberant faith of a youthful nation in its God. As we find in Jeremiah (2:2), “I remember you were faithful in your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness.” Exuberant faith is evident in the way we rebound from crisis. After the Holocaust, this was evident in our national resurgence through the State of Israel and in our spiritual resurgence as seen in the expanding yeshiva movement and the growth of religious Judaism in general.
On Yom Hashoah, I will sit quietly in a memorial service and will remember those we lost. I will be overwhelmed by the trauma of losing six million Jews. I will think about the numerous family members I never met as I feel a cold emptiness in the depths of my soul. I will see my father’s face and be reminded of the horrors he saw in Bergen-Belsen. I will see the strength that comes from having overcome tragedy and having the ability to begin anew. I will sing Ani Ma’amin and try to understand how that song of faith embodies the ongoing connection to God that was implanted in us in Egypt. I will look ahead to that burst of energy that characterized the Exodus from Egypt and will appreciate the vibrant Jewish life that is flourishing in the State of Israel and North America. I will look at my children and grandchildren and be inspired as they play a role in restoring and enhancing the dignity and vitality of our people.
Rabbi Charles Grysman is spiritual leader of Zichron Yisroel Congregation of Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto and teaches at Yeshivat Or Chaim.