Yom HaShoah in JKHA middle school began with a schoolwide Zoom, which set the tone for the day. A solitary slideshow ran all day with victims’ names and portraits in the middle school wing. Fifth graders then watched the HBO film, “The Numbers on Great Grandpa’s Arm,” as sixth, seventh and eighth graders engaged with a program created by Yad Vashem entitled “Children in the Ghetto,” which presented this complex experience in an interactive, online format, fostering a sense of empathy and awareness to the hardships and human problems of the time period. Eighth graders, who have been studying the Holocaust this entire year in their Witness Seminar program, learned about the concept of emunah during the Holocaust with Head of School Rabbi Rubin.

All of middle school came together for a meaningful program, led by eighth graders that encouraged students to see themselves as part of the larger story, taking on the memory of those that were killed. They were tasked with combating forces of anger and hatred, protecting humanity and treating others with dignity and respect. The program concluded with Rabbi Sukenik reciting “Kel Malei Rachamim” in memory of those who perished.