Zog nit keyn mol az du geyst dem letstn veg,
Khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg.
Kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho –
S’vet a poyk ton undzer trot – mir zaynen do!
“Never say you are going on your final road, Although leadened skies block out blue days. Our longed for hour will yet come. Our step will beat out—
We are here!”
By Rachel Loria
On Nov. 6, the Jewish community gathered at Emek Shalom Holocaust Memorial Cemetery, a national historical monument where family members gather to pay respects to those that perished during the Holocaust and those who are buried at the cemetery who have connections to the Holocaust.
Colonel Jay Ipson, a Holocaust Survivor and his grandson Ben Ipson, began the ceremony by blowing the Shofar and setting the tone.
In her opening prayer for the ceremony, Rabbi Sherry Grinsteiner of Congregation Or-Atid spoke of antisemitism still occurring and how we need to speak up to combat the hatred.
Susan Greenbaum, a local musician-songwriter, was our family speaker. She told us her family’s story and encouraged other’s in the audience to learn their family history and to share their stories.
Every year, Emek Shalom hosts the Esther J. Windmueller Never Again Award Competition. We encourage high school students to write essays about how to combat antisemitism. Our winner this year, Leo Coogan, spoke about how people need to educate others and speak up against antisemitism. Our second-place winner was Jay Damodar.
Susan Greenbaum then sang the Jewish Partisan Anthem “Zog Nit Keyn Mol,” that mentions that even though the skies are dark, the Jewish people will persevere and our day will come. We are still here!
Rabbi Grinsteiner led a prayer for the armed forced in Israel and in the United States, and committee members lit 6 candles on the monument to remember the millions who died during the Holocaust. Attendees then placed stones on the monuments.
Captain Alex Keisch led the ceremony, and our committee would like to thank everyone who made the event possible.
See more photos.
