April 28, 2024/20 Nisan 5784

Dear Friends, 

Each year, we come together on Yom Hashaoah, Holocaust remembrance day, to remember and also reaffirm our hope in humanity. In doing so, we fulfill what post-holocaust theologian Emil Fackinheim states is the 613th commandment: never give the Nazi’s a posthumous victory. On May 5th at 7:00pm, together with Congregation Beth Judea, we will come together to remember and renew our pledge to give meaning and substance to the words “Never Again.”   

In the documentary Joachim Prinz: I Shall Not Be Silent, Rabbi Joachim Prinz, a rabbi rescued from Nazi Germany in 1937, spoke the following words to thousands at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington: 

“When I was the rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin under the Hitler regime, I learned many things. The most important thing that I learned under those tragic circumstances was that bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problem. The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful, and the most tragic problem is silence.”

There are many ways in which we can use our voices, individually and together, to combat antisemitism and the forces that seek to destroy our spirit and soul. Beth Am is committed to being a force for good in the world and in our community. Thank you for being a part of our Beth Am family! 

We hope to see you on May 5 at our Yom HaShaoah commemoration service at Beth Judea and to celebrate the 76th Birthday of the State of Israel at Shabbat services on May 10th. 

B’Shalom,

Rabbi Bellows