Last night we had an incredible and emotional evening as three individuals who survived the Holocaust as children shared their personal and personal stories, but who uplifted us at the same time with their strength and ability to rise from the ashes.
Well over a hundred people of all ages joined us last night at Chabad of Sudbury for an Evening of Remembrance and the firsthand stories of three child Holocaust survivors.
Thank you to Hadassa Kubat for sharing her own story as a young child in a Ghetto and a German labor camp in Minsk from which only a handful of Jews survived. Hadassa's memories and anecdotes were both amazing and inspiring at the same time. Hadassa then gifted to Chabad a beautiful painting of Jerusalem by her father on which he memorialized over 50 relatives who were murdered in the Holocaust.
Thank you to Philip Cohen, who shared his moving story of survival in the 
Greek mountains and how his family survived multiple close encounters and near death at the hands of the Nazi's. Philip described two moments when they were moments from getting killed and his parents told him to recite Shema Yisroel. Philip also movingly described how a Greek family risked their lives to hide them and how he remembers them each year as he says Kaddish for relatives killed in the Holocaust.
Thank you to Izzy Milkow for sharing his emotional and heart wrenching story of going to visit his uncle as a young child and having his entire family murdered while he alone survived as he was out of town. As they fled east to Uzbekistan his uncle became very sick and kept telling Izzy, never forget who you really are, and then he too died. Now Izzy was left as a young child with no-one left in the world. Like the others his story is inspiring in how he managed to go forward and build a new life, inspire others too, and be a proud and engaged Jew. Thank you to his wonderful wife Betty Milkow for facilitating his moving presentation.
A full video will be released shortly.
To see 30+ photos of the evening click here.
As Jews we often grapple with the faith questions that come with a tragedy like this. But truth to be told, there is no answer and the questions remain as things that we will never comprehend or understand.
The takeaway from an evening like this is definitely a deep resonance of what the impact of the Holocaust was on the Jewish people and a tiny miniscule glimpse into the personal individual side of this tragedy. It is also a call to action to make sure that “Never Again” is not just words, but is also a truism that we live by for all of humanity.
But there is one more observation which I think is no less important which I have taken from all three of you.
In Yiddish there is an old expression that people would say in Europe, “es iz shver tzu zayn a yid”, meaning, “it is hard to be a Jew”. People would say this with an added Oye Vaye, or a sigh, and this is how many people felt about the toll that we have to live with as Jews. Yet, when I hear and see these three wonderful people, I hear a different message, I hear “es iz gut tzu zayn a yid”, meaning, “it is good to be a Jew”. Each one of these three people, got up from the ashes or from the destruction of the Holocaust and reestablished new lives on foreign shores, and have been productive, hardworking, and proud and engaged Jews.
Philip is no youngster, and he is just a little bit older than me, but Philip loves to come from Newton to study at our Tuesday night Jewish Study Group. Philip is also an active member and Shul goer of his Synagogue in Newton. No matter what Philip has been through as a child, his Jewish identity and the love and passion that he places on its meaning and value, is exemplary and a true testimony of “it is good to be a Jew”.
Hadassa, well Hadassa doesn’t need my praises either, but Hadassa is an avid participant in our Thursday night Torah Study Group, whose love for learning and discovering the deeper layers of our tradition and history, is obvious. In addition, Hadassa volunteers each Sunday and comes in with a smile and helps the students in Hebrew School learn how to read Hebrew. These are just some of the examples that I see each week, of Hadassa’s love for her identity which she would never give up for anything.
Then last but not least, Izzy has a story that is beyond imaginable, yet when I first met Izzy, I would never have guessed that he experienced such a crazy and painful past. Yet, in recent years I discovered snippets of his story and suddenly I realized what an inspiration he is. I know that tonight we have some of Izzy’s former Hebrew School students from many years ago, who were beneficiaries of his love for Yiddishkiet back then. But Izzy there is one more thing, that I love about you, and that is your Davening and Praying. When Izzy prays in Shul, you hear him passionately saying the words, and singing along the melodies and Davening to G-d, and as I do so, I think of his words and the person who is carrying them, and I imagine the words being brought before G-d as gems and diamonds. You see for a man like Izzy who experienced a loss like that, to then pray with such a passion, it is truly beyond inspirational, and you know that Izzy is a man who lives a life of “Ez is Gut tzu Zayn a Yid”.
We can all learn from all of you, of how to focus on what is important in life, and how to prioritize what we convey to our children, and how to show our children that regardless of life’s challenges, “ez is gut tzu zayn a yid”, and it is worthwhile and enriching to be connected to our Yiddishkiet and Mesorah.
May the Memory of all your loved ones be a blessing and may the inspiration of who they were and the lives that you yourselves lead, continue to inspire all of us with a renewal of our commitment to work together to make the world a dwelling place that reflects G-d’s values and morals and goodness for all mankind.