Holocaust Remembrance on days other than Yom HaShoah

You may wish to light Shoah Yellow Candles on days other than Yom HaShoah

"Light a Candle, Preserve a Memory" ™

Please refer to your Rabbi for guidance

The FJMC Shoah Yellow Candle™ remains an important symbol, and we want to suggest alternative opportunities to distribute and the days to light the Shoah Yellow Candle.  Lighting your Shoah Yellow Candle on these days, remembering a child or a loved one who lost their lives in the Holocaust, is an appropriate and educational way to remember a young life who perished in the Holocaust, perhaps whom no one may be left to say the Mourners Kaddish or Yizkor.   Of course, if you are a Synagogue or Temple, please consult with your Rabbi to determine appropriateness what might be an appropriate option. The following are some alternatives. It would be best if you always referred to your Rabbi for guidance.

  • Yahrzeit is the anniversary of the death of a parent or close relative and is most commonly observed by burning a candle for an entire day. Often people will light a Shoah Yellow Candle, in addition to a traditional glass Yahrzeit Candle, on the day they recite a memorial prayer for a loved one. One can say a prayer for the six million who perished in the Holocaust.
  • Shavuot - On Shavuot, it is traditional to recite the Yizkor (The opening word of the communal memorial), which is the traditional mourning service recited in memory of a parent or other close loved one or friend during synagogue services on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), on the eighth day of Passover (Pesaḥ), on Shemini Atzeret (the eighth day of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles), and on the first or second day of Shavuot pending if you celebrate one day or two days (Feast of Weeks). 
  • Yom Kippur is another day when Yizkor is recited.  Your club could distribute the Shoah Yellow Candles and the name of a murdered child during Rosh Hashanah services with the request to light the candle on Erev Yom Kippur.
  • Tisha B'Av - The  9th of Av is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar and is a day that recalls tragedies that befell the Jewish People throughout the ages. Many congregations have used the Shoah Yellow Candle during their services on Tisha B'Av as an opportunity to light a Yellow Candle at home.  Additional suggestions for Tisha B'Av may be found below.
  • Kristallnacht - Many organizations light the Shoah Yellow Candle™ to memorialize Kristallnacht (November 9 -10), which marked the intensification of a regime of terror against the German Jews. Violent mobs, spurred by Anti-Semetic exhortation from Nazi officials, destroyed hundreds of synagogues and burned or desecrated Jewish religious artifacts. Acting on orders from Gestapo headquarters, police officers and firefighters did nothing to prevent the destruction. Approximately 7,500 Jewish-owned businesses, homes, and schools were plundered, and 91 Jews were murdered. An additional 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps. The FJMC Yellow Candle™ Program allows families to speak about events leading to the Holocaust, perhaps for the first time, and raise awareness of what can happen if Anti-Semitism goes unchallenged.
  • International Holocaust Remembrance Day - January 27 is designated by the United Nations as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Since 2005, the United Nations member countries have held commemorative ceremonies to mark the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and honor the Six Million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism. International Holocaust Remembrance Day aims to promote Holocaust education throughout the world. On January 27, many state and local governments, Canadian provinces, public schools, the US military, churches, and other organizations commemorate the Holocaust.

In each of the above examples,  the name of a Child and the meditation may be used.

The tragedy of the Holocaust is not to be forgotten to prevent similar heinous crimes or repeat offenses.  Sharing light through remembrance using the Shoah Yellow Candle is just a moment in time but a timeless moment that can never be forgotten. The tool of light – through candle sharing – will shine truth on everyone it comes across. 

We cannot forget the Holocaust; we must educate its lessons to prevent hatred and intolerance. Together we can shine the light, even at this time of our own darkness.

Holocaust Remembrance for Tisha B'Av

Anti-Semitism is Pervasive

Light Your Yellow Candle™ Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Program Schedule

  • Rescue your Yellow Candles from your building now or before about one month before Tisha B'Av.  
  • Arrange for your Rabbi or Lay Leader to provide Tisha B'Av letter and meditation prayer to be included with your Yellow Candle™ delivery.
  • IF MAILING:  PACK YOUR CANDLES to ensure delivery before Tisha B'Av.
    •    Either send the candles home with your volunteers for packing and labeling
    •    Or spread out your "packing team" in your shul's social hall.
  • Deliver the Yellow Candles in their boxes to the Post Office.  --  Please allow three weeks for 3rd class mail delivery.
    •      Set aside some Yellow Candles™ for people to come in and pick-up, because they will hear about it from others.  
  • Submit Yellow Candles for Tisha B'Av flyers to your webmaster for inclusion on your website(s). Arrange calendar notices, e-blasts, bulletins, etc., one month before Tisha B'Av.
    • Provide announcements to read at services, etc., reminding the community to light their Yellow Candle™ for Tisha B'Av.
    •      Submit a press release to local media outlets—follow-up with telephone calls. 
  • Encourage the Rabbi and leaders to post & share the light your Yellow Candle message- Fight Anti-Semitism and support Holocaust Remembrance. Shine Yellow Candles for Tisha B'Av.
  • Tisha B'Av is a fast day.

 

Sample Rabbi Letter

(On Your Letterhead)

 

This unusual year, we are combining both Tisha B'av, the culmination of a three-week period of mourning, with Holocaust Remembrance, by sharing the Shoah Yellow Candle™ at the same time. Please light your Yellow Candle on Saturday evening after Wednesday, July 26, 2023. Then attend the virtual Tisha B'av commemoration on Sunday. The service link is available on the synagogue website.

The Jewish people are committed to memory.  Our entire historical consciousness is based on the memory of our people's activities throughout history. In our generation, it is our task to remember the Shoah, the horrible destruction of our people during World War II. What was destroyed were human lives and human potential, not merely Jewish culture but new possibilities for Jewish creativity, not simply six million Jews but the generations that might have come from them.

Thus, it is incumbent upon us to remember what we lost. I highly commend our own Men's Club and The Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs for the Shoah Candle Program.  It allows us to bring the memory of our loss into our homes through the ritualized lighting of the yellow Shoah Yahrzeit candle.

I encourage you to light the candle and place it by your window in the same way that you place the Hanukkah candles for all to see. I also encourage you to contribute to the Program to ensure that we may continue it in the years to come.  Give your contributions in memory of those who perished during the Holocaust, and honor the generations of their families that were never born.

Light a Candle, Preserve a Memory! TM

B’Shalom,

{Signature}                                

Rabbi {insert name}

 

MEDITATION

In these memorable days, as I light this Shoah Yellow Candle™, I vow never to forget the lives of the Jewish men, women, and children who are symbolized by this flame.  They were tortured and brutalized by human beings who acted like beasts; their lives were taken in cruelty.  May we be inspired to learn more about our six million brothers and sisters as individuals and as communities, to recall their memory throughout the year so that they will not suffer a double death.   To that end, I now memorialize the name and life of (Name Below), who, as a child was denied an entire lifetime of dreams and hope. May I embody the beauty and goodness of what could have been had s/he lived.  May we recall not only the terror of their deaths but also the splendor of their lives.  May the memory of their lives inspire us to hallow our own lives and live meaningful Jewish lives so that we may help ensure that part of who they were shall always endure