Community observes Yom HaShoah at Temple Beth Israel

After extreme brutality and suffering, some find comfort in silence. But, even greater comfort and clarity can be found in honoring the fallen with shared stories, not only of the sorrow and anguish, but also of the instances of selflessness and humanity.

This sense of sharing was a common theme throughout this year’s community observance of Yom HaShoah, the Holocaust Day of Remembrance, April 27, at Temple Beth Israel. The Sarasota-Manatee Rabbinical Association and the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee organized the gathering.

A connected community was evident throughout the afternoon of observance as people from across Sarasota and Manatee counties joined together in remembrance.

The Kings String Quartet from Pine View School provided music during the ceremony, while Cantor Cliff Abramson moved the audience with his rendition of “Ani Ma’amin,” or “I Believe,” before the six memorial candles were lit.

Each candle represented 1 million Jews whom the Nazis and their collaborators killed. A seventh candle was lit in memory of other prisoners and soldiers who died. Local Holocaust survivors and their family members, Paul Molnar, Jack Boardman, Hilde Mandel, David Grace, Margot Colville and Renate Kirshenbaum, lit the candles during the service after sharing their experiences with the Holocaust.

Molnar was taken to Auschwitz at 14 and survived the death march by escaping into the mountains. He moved to the U.S., got married and founded a successful business.

“Those monsters didn’t win,” Molnar said. “Because I recreated a whole family.”

Paul Bartrop, professor of history and director of the Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Human Rights Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University, spoke about the “Goodness During the Holocaust: Acts of Helping Amidst the Horror.” 

“The Holocaust was a time when living space, food, sanitation facilities and medicine were at a premium,” Bartrop said. “Those who hid Jews from the Nazis risked their own lives and … the lives of their families. Given the enormous risks in undertaking these rescue efforts, it’s remarkable that these initiatives took place at all.”

A Yom HaShoah essay competition, which the Sarasota-Manatee Rabbinical Association sponsored, was also part of this year’s commemoration.

With nearly 70 essays submitted, Justin Hartshorne, a 10th-grade student at North Port High School, won first place.

Contact Kelsey Grau at [email protected]