Light from the Darkness
A Ritual of Remembrance for Yom HaShoah
April 20, 2020, online
8 pm eastern, 7 pm central, 6 pm mountain, 5 pm pacific
We will observe Yom HaShoah as a global community, together while we are separate. Join us for Light from the Darkness, a special, virtual, ritual of remembrance.
This new ritual, modeled on the Passover Seder, will change your view of Yom HaShoah. Filled with song and story, ritual and remembrance, this powerful experience helps us to fulfill the responsibility that survivors have entrusted to us – to remember, to tell the story, and to act.
It is a poignant and beautiful ceremony that commemorates both the terrible atrocities that occurred and the inner strength of the victims and those who helped them.
Readers
Bertha Schwarz
Holocaust Survivor and Speaker
Jennifer Rudick Zunikoff
Storyteller and Poet
Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis
Spiritual Leader, Congregation Kol Ami, Flower Mound, TX
Violet Neff-Helms
Executive Vice President, Teach the Shoah
Deborah Fripp
President, Teach the Shoah
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.
All group readings will be provided on screen. However, we recommend that you get a copy of the book so that you can follow along with the ritual. The text is available as a printed book from Behrman House here, and as an ebook from Amazon here and from Apple books.
We also 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