On April 23, more than 350 people gathered at the JCC of Paramus/Congregation Beth Tikvah to commemorate Yom HaShoah at the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey’s annual Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Program.

The program began with remarks by Rosalind Melzer, co-chair of the event; Daniel Herz, president of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey; and Rabbi Arthur Weiner, the rabbi of the JCC of Paramus/Congregation Beth Tikvah. Speakers emphasized the importance of Holocaust remembrance, the rise in antisemitism and the need to ensure that “never again” is now. Rabbi Weiner quoted the Anti-Defamation League’s latest report of antisemitism in the United States throughout 2024, which stated that “… we [the ADL] have never seen numbers like this before.”

Similar to previous years, congregants from a variety of synagogues in northern New Jersey walked down the main aisle with rescued Torahs from Czechoslovakia that are housed in their respective congregations. Children, from toddlers to teenagers, the older ones holding candles, walked alongside the Torah procession.

Following the procession, three young individuals narrated stories of three Holocaust survivors. Each survivor was very young when the war began in their home country. Two of the survivors, Sandra, originally from Poland, and Moshe, originally from Belgium, were placed in hiding early in the war. Sandra was hidden on a farm and Moshe at a church. When the war ended, Sandra, only 5 years old, was reunited with a father she no longer remembered. Moshe was left orphaned and was reunited with an uncle. Their stories included their life’s journeys and the many different places they traveled until they reached their current homes in Bergen County. Moshe was able to attend the program and stand on the bima while a young man narrated his story.

The third survivor, Jeanette Amar, was born in Morocco. That country’s Jews were saved from deportation due to Sultan Muhammad V’s loyalty to his Jewish subjects, however, Amar still remembers hearing the sounds of bombs and war all around her. Her story included a life in Morocco until it became too uncomfortable for the Jewish people, and the journey she experienced before settling in Bergen County.

Following each story, a candle was lit in memory of each survivor’s family members murdered in the Holocaust. Moshe was able to light on behalf of his family, and Jeanette’s daughter lit a candle for her mother’s family. Three additional candles were lit by other Holocaust survivors or family members so that six candles burned in a candelabra on the bima in honor of the 6 million murdered Jews.

The event included powerful remarks from Menachem Z. Rosensaft. A child of two Holocaust survivors, Rosensaft was born in the displaced persons camp of Bergen-Belsen in Germany. He told his parents’ story of surviving the Nazi death and concentration camps and expressed that he views the Holocaust, similar to many children of Holocaust survivors, through the prism of his parents’ experiences. Rosensaft discussed how his mother’s training as a doctor enabled her to save many people in the camps during the war and after liberation. He raised key questions such as where God was during the Holocaust and noted the contrast of God’s absence during the Holocaust to the abundantly clear version of God during the Exodus story. Additionally, he emphasized the need of integrating Holocaust awareness into our liturgy.

Rosensaft concluded his remarks by quoting one of the psalms from his acclaimed poetry volume ‘Burning Psalms: Confronting Adonai After Auschwitz,’ in memory of his brother Benjamin, who was among the 1 million children murdered during the Holocaust.

The program concluded with a recitation of “K’El Ma’aleh Rachamim” and Kaddish. Kaddish was recited by Michael Epstein, a Holocaust survivor who attended the event alongside three other generations of his family.

The evening was a powerful tribute to the 6 million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, a reminder of our continuous need to fight antisemitism, and hope for Jewish continuity and the future through the next generations of Jewish children.