Almost a rite of passage for the eighth graders at RYNJ since 2018, the Holocaust Memorial Night program culminates a year-long effort of education, research and creativity. With the exception of two of “the COVID years,” Holocaust Memorial Night has become an institution.

Faye Kohn, director of academics and instruction shared her excitement with the success, impact and importance of the project. “The students were eager to leave a lasting impact when they left the school and were proud to create something tangible that others could visit, see and experience.” Since the Holocaust Memorial pretty much has ‘legacy’ status at this point for RYNJ, she said, “The students feel it’s a special privilege to be a part of creating these memorable and special exhibits when it’s their turn to graduate.”

Rabbi Avi Bernstein, principal of the middle school boys division, explained, “After an extensive unit on the Holocaust, eighth grade students were guided by their teachers in the creation of a host of gripping projects, captivating videos of survivor stories, and reflections of how the Shoah impacted Jewish life. It culminated in a Holocaust Memorial Night where families toured a museum-like experience that was deeply moving.”

Meital Sturm, eighth-grade girls social studies teacher, and Zahava Ribowsky, eighth-grade boys social studies teacher, each coordinated the museum exhibits and the room venue rotation. Back in 2018, Sturm sought a class project that would keep the students focused and engaged throughout the academic year; something relevant to them, hands-on, meaningful, and with a lasting impact. Additionally, other teachers had also been looking for a way to generate enduring interest and inspiration. Concurrently, the school was looking to integrate a Holocaust unit into the curriculum, so they merged the goals with a focus on the Holocaust. What emerged became a full Holocaust museum explored through many lenses: historical, literary, Judaica and even relative to halacha.

The logistics of the evening were magnificent, truly a collaboration of the teachers. In particular, Tova Burack managed the entire video production project and compiled the video collections for each room. Aviva Sturm, Jessica Miles and Sarah Braun worked with the students on writing their personal reflections; Sturm (girls) and Braun (boys) managed the readings in the reflection rooms. Rabbi Kopstick guided the boys in learning shailos and teshuvot relevant to the situation. Braun taught Hebrew poetry via “L’chol Ish Yesh Shem,” for the girls. Kohn served as coordinator of logistics, keeping the evening moving in a steady and smooth flow of motion between the exhibits, the video projection rooms, and rotation of guests into the group reflection room. (So much so that when it came time for each student to share their reflections on the project, their parents and family would already be seated in the reflection room.)

Kohn also shared a reflection of her own. “Learning about the Holocaust gives our students the opportunity to explore and connect deeply with the history of their own families and of our people. In first grade learning Chumash, students sing a song with the words, ‘We are a link in the chain of the mesorah.’” Now as graduating eighth graders, she reflected that students are developmentally ready to more fully appreciate what it means to take their place as that link, to embrace the memories of a shared past, and to honor those memories as they take their place in building a secure and glorious future for Am Yisrael. Summarizing, Kohn exclaimed, “What better way for them to leave our halls than with an appreciation for the wonder and powerful stewardship of this sacred purpose?!”

The museum exhibit was captivating and poignant, and the student docents could have served in any “real” museum, so well prepared and fluent were they. The videos were extraordinarily well done, notably with the technical production work having been done by the students themselves. Very impressive, and all memorable. One video that spoke volumes about the resilience of the Jewish people was that of Ita Wagner, narrating about her great-grandfather, Ralph Herzog.

Wagner noted he would have been proud to know that he has 19 great-grandchildren and many great-great-grandchildren, a reverberating testament to the ultimate failure of the Holocaust.

Ellie Wolf is a long-time writer for The Jewish Link, covering a spectrum of community, health, religious, sports, political, security and business related topics. She is also the recipient of a 2024 AJPA journalism award.