We All Stand and Remember
Shalom,
It’s been 72 years since the Holocaust ended, but I have spoken to countless Holocaust survivors who are still haunted by the ungodly stench of death and burning bodies.
It’s been 72 years since the concentration camps were liberated, yet they are still so alive in the mind, spirit, and consciousness of my people.
It’s been 72 years since the world first vowed “never again,” but with the recent increase of anti-Semitic acts that has occurred, it seems like that vow is already being forgotten.
The images were vivid in my mind: human bodies that were nothing more than skin and bones, the yellow star on the coat of small children, the smoke rising over cities carrying the ashes of human beings, and transport trains packed with hundreds of people in one tiny car, gasping for air.
I thought of how dozens of my family members perished a needless and terrifying death and how six million of my people were transformed into ashes.
I open my teary eyes to see my godly, miraculous surroundings.
The land of Israel. Jews of all colours, from all four corners of the world living free and proud in our biblical homeland. Israeli soldiers with the Star of David on their shoulders. The holy language of Hebrew being revived.
My heart overflows with emotion. This is how the Jewish people function. We remember the tragedies that our people have endured, we keep them in our heart always, and then we rebuild.
As I remember the Holocaust, which ended only 72 years ago, and then I look around at where I am today living in a thriving Jewish homeland with the traditions of our forefathers being revived there are words my heart calls out over and over: Thank you, Lord, for bringing me to this day!
With blessings from the Holy Land,
Yael
“It’s been 72 years since the world first vowed “never again,” but it seems like that vow is already being forgotten…”
