Yom HaShoah begins this Sunday evening, May 5.

Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) commemorates the victims of the Holocaust. Its full name is “Yom HaShoah Ve-Hagevurah“ -- literally the “Day of (Remembrance of) the Holocaust and the Heroism.” Rituals associated with Yom HaShoah are still being created and vary widely, but here are a few ways we encourage you to mark this day, both at home and as a community (you'll find flyers below with complete details):

-On Sunday night, candles will be lit in homes across the globe to shine a light of memory, a light of education, and a light confirming that we will never forget. By participating in this program, you are helping to keep the memory of the Shoah alive, and highlighting the memory of what can happen when good people do not stand up to evil. We are grateful to the Men's Club for mailing Yellow Candles to all in-state members a few weeks ago. Please be sure to light your candle and read the name of your family's victim of the Shoah on Sunday evening. To support the Yellow Candle project, please click here.

-Israel's ceremony marking the start of Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day, will be held at Yad Vashem on Sunday night (Israel time). You can watch the ceremony at 1pm ET by clicking here. Since the early 1960s, the sound of a siren on Yom HaShoah stops traffic and pedestrians throughout the State of Israel for two minutes of silent devotion. The siren blows at sundown as the holiday begins and once again at 11am the following morning (4am ET).

-On Sunday, Voices of Hope, the Mandell JCC, and the Greater Hartford community will gather to honor the memory of the six million who perished in the Holocaust. At 1:30pm, there will be a candle procession of family members who perished and departed survivors of the Shoah, along with a reading of their names. The main event will begin at 2pm. For security purposes, registration is required and no walk-ins will be allowed. Please click here to register and join us. 

-On Monday, May 6, stop by the Mandell JCC for the Community-wide Reading of the Names from 8am until 8pm.

-There have been numerous attempts to compose special liturgy (text and music) for Yom HaShoah. One of the most recent achievements is Megillat HaShoah (The Holocaust Scroll), created by the Conservative movement as a joint project of rabbis and lay leaders in Canada, the U.S., and Israel. This Holocaust scroll contains personal recollections of Holocaust survivors and is written in biblical style. We invite you to join us for a community reading of Megillat HaShoah at The Emanuel Synagogue on Monday evening. Services begin at 7pm, with the reading scheduled for 7:30pm.

-On Tuesday, May 7, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will hold National Commemoration of the Days of Remembrance ceremony at 11am ET. Holocaust survivors as well as members of Congress, the administration, the diplomatic corps, and Museum supporters from across the country will be in attendance. The US Army Band will perform, there will be a keynote address, and all attendees will pay tribute to the victims. Sign up to receive an email reminder with a link to watch the ceremony virtually by clicking here.