Yom Hashoah part two

Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem

How do we feel the loss of someone we never knew?  My family was lucky.  Depending on how you count, I'm a fourth or fifth generation American citizen.  My great-great grandparents came to this country from all across Central and Eastern Europe.  While I am sure that I lost distant relatives to the plague of Nazi hatred, massacre and murder; my immediate family has been in this country for almost a century and a half.

How do I thank my ancestors for making a decision to leave their homes, their families, everything they knew and coming to the Goldeneh Medinah?  How do I show my appreciation to the United States of America for welcoming them with open arms--or at least letting them in the door?

Yet, even without a direct personal connection to the Shoah, I find this a mournful day.  Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh lazeh-All Israel is responsible for one another.  We are a people.  We are a nation.  We are a faith.  As Jews, we are all connected to each other--and to the broader human family.  We are all one.  If one person is hurt, we all cry out.  As a Jew, the Shoah pains me deeply.  The candle on my desk reminds me of the loss of millions of Jews, as well as millions of gays, lesbians, political prisoners, people with disabilities, Roma, and so many others.  Hitler started with us, but the cancer of hate spread quickly.

Today I see massacres all across the world.  Whether in Sudan, against the Rohinga in Myanmar, against gays and lesbians in much of the Muslim world, massacres still happen.  Genocide still happens.  And the hatred of Jews remains one of the most stubborn viruses in the world.

This blog does not say much, but it also says everything.  As Jews, we have a responsibility to one another, but we also have a responsibility to the world.  We, who have been the victims of violence against us from near the beginning of time, must continue to cry out against hatred everywhere.  Yet it cannot just be as Jews.  It must be as all humans.  Humanity as a whole must know that if one of us is injured, we all bleed.  Never forget.