Rambam marks 76th anniversary of Kristallnacht

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Nov. 9 and 10 marked the 76th anniversary of “The Night of Broken Glass.”  Since its inception over two decades ago, Rambam has commemorated this day of infamy with special programming, speakers, and often time rallies outside the homes of Nazi war criminals.

This year’s program was a combination of a study of history and Torah  perspectives.

Mr. Joel Berkowitz, noted Rambam Jewish history teacher, summarized what transpired and shared with the students original newspaper clippings and rare historical documentation of the pre-Holocaust era. He pointed out that the “groundwork for anti-Semitism” was put in place in Germany during years of Martin Luther.

“The decree of Luther called for Germany to confiscate Jewish property, burn Jewish books, destroy their houses of worship and the arrest Jews on the street — exactly those very same anti-Semitic laws promulgated by the Nazi regime,” he said.

 Rabbi Yotav Eliach showed gripping footage of Kristallnacht and reminded the talmidim that evil can flourish when good people fail to act. “It has been our tradition to speak out against evil — because it is in fact our obligation to do so,” he said.

Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman identified some of the lessons we can derive from Kristallnacht. He pointed out that contrary to many historians — the Holocaust did not “begin with Kristallnacht, but rather began with the virulently anti-Semitic Nuremberg laws in the early 1930s.”

He shared that “Torah teaches us that Yaakov Avinu noticed  the subtle facial expressions of Lavan and responded accordingly. We too face threats from Iran, Hamas and their ilk and must do what we can in a proactive manner to thwart the threat.”

He mentioned that human nature does not change the fact that evil people have within them the potential to perpetrate the worst atrocities under conditions that will allow it. 

Ultimately, said Rabbi Friedman, “We must do everything in our power to defend klal Yisrael, which includes utilizing the tools on earth which are available to us with a life of Torah and mitzvos which hopefully will enable us to merit Siyat DisHmaya.”