Additional Words of Peace (Peace & Justice)

If you have more than 16 people, there will not be enough words of peace on page 30 for everyone to read something different. Here is a list of additional words you can use.

Extra Words of Peace download

Option:
Cut the words apart and put one word at each person’s place. Let people take the paper home as a keepsake.

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Photos of the Lost (Memory)

If you have more than 20 people, there will not be enough photographs of the lost for everyone to read a name. You can download additional pictures here.

Here are the pictures in the book plus some additional pictures, in case you want to hand them out to people:

• Photos of the lost
• Stories of the lost

Here are some pictures in a strip format, cut from family pictures. These are useful if you want to do the optional activity below.

• Additional pictures for downloading, for single-sided printing
• Additonal pictures for downloading, for double-sided printing
• Information about these pictures (note that not all of the people in these pictures died in the Holocaust)

Optional activity: Covering the barbed wire Star of David picture with the pictures of the lost

• Download this picture of a barbed wire Mogen David.
• Print out the picture and place it in the center of the table. If you want, you can place small river stones in the corners. These serve to both keep it in place and to evoke the tradition of putting small stones on gravestones.
• Print out the strip-format pictures of the lost above. Cut the pictures apart from each other. Place a picture at each person’s place.
• At the reading of the names of the lost, in Memory, have everyone get up and carry their picture over to the Mogen David. Read the name on the picture as you place the picture over the barbed wire until the barbed wire is entirely covered.

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Adding Food

Recipes from the Ghetto:
Consider adding snacks for before the ritual, or a meal or oneg for after. Recipes for dumplings and cookies based on In Memory’s Kitchen, a cookbook from the Terezin Ghetto, can be found on the recipes page. These recipes can anchor your commemoration in the lives and memories of those you are remembering.

Bread:
Instead of challah, choose a special bread to honor a particular community. For instance, tsoureki (Greek sweet bread) or babcia bread (Polish sweet bread).

Wine:
Use wines from unusual regions in Europe where people were impacted by the Holocaust, e.g. Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, etc.

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Adding Depth

The child’s drawing as a family program:
Have a family program during the week before Yom Hashoah where the children make drawings of things that represent Judaism to them. Choose one for the table, and hang the rest on the walls.

Yahrzeit Candles:

• Contact www.Our6million.org for yahrzeit candles with the names and stories of Holocaust victims printed on the outside.
• Place a yahrtzeit candle on each table. Be sure to put matches or a lighter with each candle.

Synagogue Knocker:
For the knocking in Awakening, find a piece of wood that resembles a shofar (but not a gavel) as a schulklopfer would have used.

Words of Peace:
Print out the words of peace found in the “Extras for Download” tab. Cut them apart and put one word at each person’s place. Let people take the paper home as a keepsake.

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Adding Movement

In Help:
Have participants walk around the room and find someone they don’t know or don’t know well, to give them an opportunity to connect with new people.

In Memory – Covering the barbed wire Star of David picture with the pictures of the lost:

• Print out the picture of the barbed wire Mogen David found in the “Extras for Download” tab. Place it in the center of the table. If you want, you can place small river stones in the corners. These serve to both keep it in place and to evoke the tradition of putting small stones on gravestones.
• Print out the pictures of the lost found in the “Extras for Download” tab. Cut the pictures apart from each other. Place a picture at each person’s place.
• At the reading of the names of the lost, in Memory, have everyone get up and carry their picture over to the Mogen David. Read the name on the picture as you place the picture over the barbed wire until the barbed wire is entirely covered.

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For a Younger Audience:

A few minor changes can make the text age-appropriate for a younger or less knowledgeable group.

• Terror: Skip the initial section and go straight to The Lost Communities.
• Awakening: Cut the first stanza from An Affirmation for the Future.

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In a Sanctuary:

If you have a large number of people, you can still do this ritual in a sanctuary with lecture-style seating.

Here are some suggestions:

• Have a few people lead and take turns reading. Invite members of the congregation to read from the bimah. Multiple voices add power to the story.
• Pass around as many of the symbols as are feasible (e.g., rosemary sprigs).
• For symbols and experiences that cannot be easily passed (e.g., spilling drops of wine), perform them on the bimah. Invite people from the congregation up for this purpose.
• Give the child’s drawing to someone in the congregation to keep safe.

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With another Yom Hashoah Ceremony:

Pulling out and separately adding sections of this ritual to another ceremony can add richness to that commemoration.

Some suggestions to use:

• Light from Darkness (especially the mismatched candlesticks)
• Resolve (especially Never Again)
• Awakening
• Peace and Justice

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Online:

This ritual works remarkably well as an online program. You can see an example of that here. We recommend you give the following information to the participants:

This is an interactive program, including a variety of rituals that you can do at home. Here are some recommendations to get the most out of this program. If you can’t get these things, though, don’t worry about it. Just bring yourself.

We recommend that you gather these pieces so that you can partake fully in the ritual aspects of the program:

• Wine or grape juice
• Sweet tea (hot or cold)
• Bread

And any of the following that you have easy access to:

• Two candles on mismatched candlesticks
• A Yahrtzeit candle
• A drawing made by a child (or someone) that represents Judaism or freedom
• Sprigs of rosemary or other fragrant herb
• Potato skins (rinsed and microwaved for 1 min)
• Bowls of salt water
• Unpeeled oranges or any fruit that has an outer covering that is bitter and inedible
• Fruits with pits – any fruit that has an inedible pit, such as whole olives or peaches

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At Home:

This ritual works as well in a home setting as in a community context. For the best experience, follow it with dinner and discussion. Meal and recipe suggestions based on a cookbook from the Terezin Ghetto can be found on the recipe page. These recipes can anchor your commemoration in the lives and memories of those you are remembering.

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Interfaith Programs:

While the current ritual can be used in an interfaith setting, we are in the process of developing a ritual specifically aimed at an interfaith audience. Contact us if you are interested in this alternative.