Move Yom Hashoah to Tisha B'Av

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This letter, published in the readers’ section of the Davar newspaper on May 12, 1965, deals with the question of the appropriate time to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah).

Group Activity

The letter refers tothe date of Yom Hashoah, 27 Nisan.

• Why was Yom HaShoah set for this day?
• What, according to the writer, is the problem with this date?
• What is commemorated on Tisha B'Av?
• Why does the writer think that Tisha B'Av is an appropriate day for remembering the Holocaust?
• Why does the writer state that Tisha B'Av is open to new meaning in our times?
• Why do you think the act of remembering is so important in Judaism?

• What do you think about the writer's idea?

   

  Discussion Questions

• Is Tisha B'Av a more appropriate day for marking Holocaust Remembrance Day?
• Do you agree with the letter's opening statement?
  "We are all pondering the problem of how to put new meaning into old traditions whose meaning has become empty with time. And yet here we are creating new traditions that are pale and lifeless and achieve the opposite of what was intended."
• The writer wrote that Tisha B'Av is now free for new meaning?
• What, in your opinion, is the meaning of Tisha B'Av after the establishment of Israel?
• Does the integration of new content into an ancient tradition strengthens or damages tradition?
• What does Yom HaShoah mean to you?
• Do you think it is important to mark the Holocaust with a day of remembrance?

Creative Activity

From the perspective of a Holocaust survivor, write a letter to Davar explaining your opinion regarding a separate day for Holocaust remembrance.

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