Memory in the living room = זכרון בסלון

"From now on, it's on us" ("מעכשיו זה עלינו") is the new slogan being used on billboards to encourage people to actively engage in Holocaust remembrance.

Does keeping trauma in the forefront help or hurt us?

When I was a child, there were Holocaust survivors in abundance.

Sorry for the cynicism, but yes – they were taken for granted (מובן מאליו).

Every Holocaust Memorial Day (יום השואה) at school, someone would come and share their story.

The third generation (הדור השלישי) – my friends and I – saw them as true heroes who had overcome the unimaginable, and we looked up to them with reverence (יראת כבוד).

We gave them a platform to speak without shame.

And they – (finally, after many years of silence) – could share their story with dignity (כבוד).

Everyone had someone in their family, or a friend, or a neighbor who was a survivor.

Holocaust survivors (ניצולי שואה) walked among us and were a part of us.

Yes, Holocaust survivors (ניצולי שואה) are now almost gone.

The atmosphere of Holocaust Remembrance Day (יום השואה) has faded somewhat, especially compared to Memorial Day (for fallen soldiers), which only grows stronger with each passing year.

Holocaust Remembrance Day (יום השואה) falls one week after Passover and one week before Independence Day. It marks the milestone that led to the establishment of the State of Israel.

In the Passover Haggadah we say,"In every generation, a person must see themselves as if they personally left Egypt" –Never forget where we came from, and never take our freedom for granted.

This year, I’m working on Holocaust Remembrance Day (יום השואה). I have a meeting at 10:10 (due to the siren - הצפירה), and that ease – that normalization – is hard for me.

"Zikaron BaSalon" "זכרון בסלון"(“Memory in the Living Room”) is a new Israeli tradition for marking Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Zikaron BaSalon shifts the torch of memory from official ceremonies and mass gatherings to personal, meaningful, and moving encounters that take place every year in thousands of living rooms simultaneously.

Each Zikaron BaSalon gathering feels and behaves differently – just like every living room looks and feels different. But in all of them, we shape and create together the way we remember and learn from the Holocaust.

Here’s the link for those interested:

https://www.zikaronbasalon.com/

Many scattered thoughts about Holocaust Remembrance Day (יום השואה). Especially these days, in times of identity crises in Israel and in the broader Zionist world.

The goal of this post? - Not to take for granted (מובן מאליו) this horrific thing that happened. To tell. And not to forget.

My meeting on Thursday? - It will likely happen.

The Holocaust? – It lives and breathes within me from the day I was born. That’s probably the reason I’m here.

These words are dedicated to all those who survived hell and managed to go on and build a life. And above all – to Grandma Luba and Grandpa Hertzke – the heroes of my life.