Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Yom Hashoah and Human Nature

Today we observe Yom Hashoah-Holocaust Memorial Day. It is a day not only to think about the past, but to reflect on the tenuous present. Why does the genocide in Darfur go on unabated? Why does a national leader openly deny the holocaust? Why does the same anti-semitic fervor that gripped the Nazis overflow in so many parts of the Arab world?

The Jewish calendar's holidays and sacred occasions can be seen as a calendrical debate on human nature. Shabbat and the pilgrimage festivals leave us with a sense of the joy and goodness of being human. Tish a Baav and Yom Hashoah remind us of the evil in human beings. Typical of Jewish sensibility both types of observances are embedded in the rhythims of a Jewish life so no one can make an absolute claim that we are either angels or devils. A Jew must be an optimistic realist. That is why we must have Shabbat and Yom Hashoah, Succot and Tish a Baav.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yom Hashoa may also be a day for research and study the reasons for hating the other. And why Jews were specially persecuted? is it because of our nature? Some thing in our genes? is it an expected social behavior? Are the Jews also responsible for being persecuted? is there any benefits for the Jews as a nation from this persecution?
is there a way out from this vicious Cycle?

Ric.


4/27/06

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