Rabbi Howard Morrison

May 5, 1945 - The liberation of Mauthausen, 79 years ago today. On the one hand, today's English date marks the gradual ending of the Shoah, with most places of horror coming to an end in the Spring of 1945.

28 Nisan 5784 - Tonight and tomorrow's Hebrew date marks the official date chosen by the State of Israel to be known as "Yom Hashoah V'Ha'Gevurah - Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day."

Many people forget to add "Gevurah - Heroism." How important that is. How did the 28^th of Nisan get selected, when any day and every day could be called a remembrance day?

The blessing of Jewish unity among our diversity tells it all. Today's day was ultimately selected because of our people's heroism, linked to the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, which began at the beginning of Pesach. Many Jews wanted this day of remembrance during Pesach. But other Jews believed one could not have this day during Pesach and wanted it after the entire month of Nisan was over. The decision which brought all Jews together was to have this observance in Nisan, to connect our remembrance to acts of heroism, but to hold off until a few days after Pesach. So, there you have it - "Yom Hashoah V'Ha'Gevurah."

My name is Rabbi Howard Morrison. I have proudly served Beth Emeth since the Summer of 2000. Our congregation was founded largely by survivors of the Shoah who located after the war in Bathurst Manor as well as other local areas. Sadly, over the last twenty-three plus years, I have had to say farewell to many of them. Still, to this day, Beth Emeth is comprised in part by survivors, children, grand-children, and great grand-children of Holocaust survivors.

This is ironic for me personally. Growing up outside of Boston, my parents were second generation Americans. My closest connection to the Shoah was the name of a member of our local shul. My parents had me and my three siblings learn the name, history, and even the number branded on the skin of Joseph Boniafca, a survivor and a member of the Young Israel of Brookline, Massachusetts.

Also, ironically, my two boys, now 29 and 26, visited the sites of Poland on youth programs before I did with members of Beth Emeth in 2015.

I am proud to be a part of our Jewish community here in the GTA, which takes the history, memory, and lessons of the Shoah seriously. 

This year, it is impossible to not think of the horrors and evils witnessed in Israel and around the world to this very day, even as we gather to remember the Shoah. If "Never Again" was a key lesson learned some eighty years ago, then "Never Again Is Now" is the operative lesson for today.

Our ceremony this evening is sandwiched amidst the three Torah portions called Acharei Mot, Kedoshim, and Emor. As a statement, these three titles translate as, "After the death, one speaks of the holy ones." How appropriate this message is as we contemplate the lives and deaths of six million precious souls.

On behalf of Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Hebrew Men of England, I am grateful to the organizers for selecting Beth Emeth as the venue for this year's gathering. I welcome you all here tonight.

Sincerely,
Rabbi Howard Morrison