On Yom HaShoah, Moriah students honored the victims of the Holocaust in meaningful ways. As the students entered the beit knesset for tefillah, six yahrzeit candles were lit to mark the six million victims of the Holocaust. Once again, this year, in preparation for Yom HaShoah, students had learned six mishnayot in memory of the six million Jews who perished. Each middle school grade learned two mishnayot and discussed their relevance and connection to Yom Hashoah. Following davening, a student representative from each class spoke about the mishnayot and shared their important lessons.

Eighth grade students from Walter T. Bergen middle school joined Moriah students in a collaborative learning experience. They shared a candle lighting ceremony and heard directly from survivor Mona Parnes, who openly shared her memories of fleeing Poland and living in Siberia during the war. She also related the joy of meeting her husband, and building a new life here in New Jersey. She shared that her continuous faith in Hashem is what kept her going in the darkest time. Afterwards, all of the students had a vibrant discussion on justice as it relates to the Holocaust and accountability. Students then watched a detailed testimonial from Moriah’s “Names, Not Numbers©” archives of WWII veteran Alan Moskin, who just recently passed away.

In the afternoon sixth, seventh and eighth graders had the privilege of hearing Michael Epstein’s story of survival. His presentation included a short video clip of when he was reunited with Abe Rosenberg, another survivor, who he shared a classroom with in a DP camp more than 75 years ago. Students were fortunate to have the opportunity to hear these honest, firsthand accounts of the atrocities of the Holocaust.