Yom Hashoah

Thursday was Yom Hashoah, the Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust. Other years, I've barely remembered Yom Hashoah, or even recognized the date. In fact, the only time I remember actually commemorating Yom Hashoah in the States was when I was in college. My senior year I sat through all 7 hours of the documentary Shoah on Yom Hashoah.

In Israel, at 10:00am on Yom Hashoah, sirens and horns ring for two full minutes across the entire country. I was sitting in our apartment at 10:00am and I heard the siren. I walked out onto our balcony and looked out at the busy street below; all cars has stopped. People were just sitting in their cars, and a few people got out of their cars and stood around.

It was really an incredibly moment of "mindfulness;" and I reflected upon the importance of remembering the Holocaust. Aaron told me he thought about how, out of the Holocaust a Jewish state emerged. I thought about how almost everyone in this country is affected by the Holocaust -- so many people have stories about parents or grandparents or their own Holocaust stories. Perhaps if everyone here, and around the world, took two full minutes to think about the tragedy of war, and racism and genocide, then we would no longer sit by and watch it happen over and over again. It's a naieve hope, and perhaps a simple thought, but standing on the balcony at 10:00 am on Thursday, a little mindfulness might go a long way.