Yom Hashoah

Tonight marks the beginning of what is formally called "Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day." Nefesh B'Nefesh was giving out tickets to tonight's official opening ceremony at Yad Vashem, the one that airs on Israeli television, and Adam and I decided to go. This will be our last Yom Hashoah-Yom Hazikaron-Yom Ha'atzmaut in Israel for a little while, and we wanted to soak up the whole Israeli experience of these holidays.

The theme of this year's Yom Hashoah ceremony, in line with Israel's 60th birthday celebration next week, was Holocaust survivors in Israel. The picture below is from the beginning of the ceremony. Merav Gruber, an Israeli actress, is reading the last letter written by a victim named Tzipora Bierman, from the Białystok Ghetto in 1943. We also heard from seven survivors who went on to make significant contributions to the State of Israel. It was just the kind of sobering-yet-uplifting Holocaust memorial ceremony that can happen only in this country.

We're back!

Yes, we're back from our Passover trip to the States and from our blogging hiatus. Adam and I will be now be blogging jointly here at Shainkeit. Come visit us often!