Yom Hashoah

On Thursday, April 28, high school students and faculty funneled into the dark Beit Midrash and found their seats in rows facing the room’s right side for a ceremony in honor of Yom Hashoah. The program began with a brief introduction by Judaic Studies teacher Rabbi Raif Melhado that established the day’s theme: resistance. The program continued in a consistent format. A student volunteer introduced a form of resistance during the Holocaust, appropriate clips (reenactments, survivor stories, etc.) relating to each form of resistance were played on a TV screen in the front of the room, and the student volunteer lit a candle in memory of individuals who exhibited their respective form of resistance. Students then split into advisory groups for a brief discussion of their takeaways from the program. After everyone had returned to their seats, the second half of the program began with the singing of “The Partisans Song” in Yiddish and hearing personal stories regarding resistance in the Holocaust from Judaic Studies teachers Mrs. Michal Lashansky and Dr. Rebecca Winter. Afterward, the traditional siren in honor of Yom Hashoah played and Rabbi Estreicher recited Kel Malei Rachamim. Students then sang Hatikvah with a recording from a Displaced Persons camp. Then Mrs. Lashansky invited attendees to light a memorial candle in the Student Commons. She explained that the Judaics Studies team faced obstacles when preparing for the event and dealing with a “few technical glitches at the beginning.” Nonetheless, Mrs. Lashansky felt they overcame these obstacles with a “moving” and “meaningful” program, which she hoped “[brought] home” the point that “resistance can be seen in different ways, not just [physically].”