A Word from Rabbi Schulman - 4/17/2020

For more than 35 years, the Tri-City Interfaith Council has sponsored a Yom HaShoah Holocaust Commemoration Service. When the planning committee for the service began meeting in early February, we assumed the shape of the service would resemble previous years. The service would be held in our sanctuary; it would be led by representatives of multiple faith communities; and there would be an interfaith choir.

Due to the pandemic, all of this has been changed. Instead of congregating at Temple, we will rely on Zoom to bring our community together. In place of many service leaders, there will be fewer for the sake of simplification. As for musical offerings, as of today it remains to be determined.

Though the contours of the service will be different than previous years, what has not changed is our collective commitment to holding a Yom HaShoah service. The coronavirus does not alter the mitzvah of remembering the past; of memorializing the destruction of European Jewry and the slaughter of millions of other innocents. A pandemic does not shake our determination to eradicate patterns of hatred that lead to genocide.

As in past years, we will have a guest speaker. The presenter is not a Holocaust survivor nor the child of a survivor. Instead, our guest will speak about his perspective as a member of the 3rd generation. He will tell the story of his grandparents through images and testimony.

This year’s Yom HaShoah Holocaust Commemoration Service will take place as scheduled on Sunday, April 26 at 7:30pm. Advanced registration is required; click here to register. Please join us.