The season soon after Passover is accompanied by many “days” (yamim) in the Jewish tradition that are important to grapple with. The first “day” of the season is Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG'vurah. Most commonly referred to as Yom HaShoah (Day of the Nazi Holocaust), the more complete name translates as “day of the memorial to the Nazi holocaust and to the strength/resistance/uprising [against it].” As such, the 27th of Nissan (a week after Passover ends) became the date for this Jewish observance after deliberation in the early 1950s, marking the week of gevurah in the omer counting, and finding itself near to the Jewish date of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on 14th of Nissan (the day before Passover begins). This “day” fell last week this year and is a time of remembrance and honoring of the dead, as well reminding us of the importance of resisting fascism and genocide. May their memories be a blessing.
While this observance is to be commended, the deliberations about what day to make this observance are useful to remember as well. The first “Yom HaShoah” was commemorated on December 28, 1949 which was the 10th of Tevet, a day of mourning and a fast day in Jewish tradition that commemorates the siege on Jerusalem by the Babylonian army that led to the destruction of the first temple. Former Israeli Knesset Speaker and author Avraham Burg insists that any memorialization of the Nazi Holocaust should happen on Tisha B’av.
While there are good arguments to be made for any day as a day to honor the victims of the Nazi Holocaust and those who resisted fascism and genocide, by ultimately choosing the 27th of Nissan, the State of Israel began an 8-day season from Yom HaShoah to Yom Ha’atzma’ut (Israel Independence Day), which also encompasses Yom HaZikaron (Israeli memorial day for fallen soldiers). This 8-day season can be paralleled to Sukkot, Chanukah, or Passover in various ways, and thus creates connections between the Nazi Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel that can uphold problematic narratives that sustain the victim narratives that justify Israeli violence against Palestinians. By holding these days as an 8-day season attached to Jewish dates, it can be confused as a “religious” holiday season, as opposed to civic holidays/commemorations of a country which continues the conflation of Jewish and Israeli.
In this season of “days” I find it also important to uplift two days measured on the Gregorian calendar that are of extreme importance to Jews and Jewish history as well. May Day (International Worker’s Day), on May 1 every year, commemorates the Haymarket riot and bombing in Chicago in 1886, which inspired a 17 year old Emma Goldman into activism and anarchism. Nakba Day, commemorated on May 15, marks the Gregorian date of the signing of Israel’s Declaration of Independence in 1948, and thus a key commemorative date in the ongoing displacement of the Palestinian people.
This season of “days” for justice-centering Jews in days of renewed fascism and genocide presents fertile ground for resistance grounded in history. The season of “days” is bookended with ancient commemorations of liberation (Passover) and revelation (Shavuot) of truth and community-centered ground-rules that hold up communal justice and identity (Torah). Even as we experience daily attacks – against the Filipino community in neighboring British Columbia this very week – may this season of “days” remind us that we are not alone, that ancestors have much to teach us, that we can hold multitudes, that we have much to be connected around and for. May we continue to renew the traditions of resisting fascism and genocide, work for justice for workers and immigrants, and amplify the stories of liberation and truth-finding that keep us all resilient in this quest.
Shabbat shalom,
R’ David
While this observance is to be commended, the deliberations about what day to make this observance are useful to remember as well. The first “Yom HaShoah” was commemorated on December 28, 1949 which was the 10th of Tevet, a day of mourning and a fast day in Jewish tradition that commemorates the siege on Jerusalem by the Babylonian army that led to the destruction of the first temple. Former Israeli Knesset Speaker and author Avraham Burg insists that any memorialization of the Nazi Holocaust should happen on Tisha B’av.
While there are good arguments to be made for any day as a day to honor the victims of the Nazi Holocaust and those who resisted fascism and genocide, by ultimately choosing the 27th of Nissan, the State of Israel began an 8-day season from Yom HaShoah to Yom Ha’atzma’ut (Israel Independence Day), which also encompasses Yom HaZikaron (Israeli memorial day for fallen soldiers). This 8-day season can be paralleled to Sukkot, Chanukah, or Passover in various ways, and thus creates connections between the Nazi Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel that can uphold problematic narratives that sustain the victim narratives that justify Israeli violence against Palestinians. By holding these days as an 8-day season attached to Jewish dates, it can be confused as a “religious” holiday season, as opposed to civic holidays/commemorations of a country which continues the conflation of Jewish and Israeli.
In this season of “days” I find it also important to uplift two days measured on the Gregorian calendar that are of extreme importance to Jews and Jewish history as well. May Day (International Worker’s Day), on May 1 every year, commemorates the Haymarket riot and bombing in Chicago in 1886, which inspired a 17 year old Emma Goldman into activism and anarchism. Nakba Day, commemorated on May 15, marks the Gregorian date of the signing of Israel’s Declaration of Independence in 1948, and thus a key commemorative date in the ongoing displacement of the Palestinian people.
This season of “days” for justice-centering Jews in days of renewed fascism and genocide presents fertile ground for resistance grounded in history. The season of “days” is bookended with ancient commemorations of liberation (Passover) and revelation (Shavuot) of truth and community-centered ground-rules that hold up communal justice and identity (Torah). Even as we experience daily attacks – against the Filipino community in neighboring British Columbia this very week – may this season of “days” remind us that we are not alone, that ancestors have much to teach us, that we can hold multitudes, that we have much to be connected around and for. May we continue to renew the traditions of resisting fascism and genocide, work for justice for workers and immigrants, and amplify the stories of liberation and truth-finding that keep us all resilient in this quest.
Shabbat shalom,
R’ David
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