A gift from Ian?

By Ida Margolis and Shelley Lieb

One of the “gifts” the Hurricane Ian experience brought us is a push to evaluate how we live our lives. Sometimes, it takes a disaster to clarify where you are versus where you really want to be, both physically and emotionally. Though you are alive and reading this message from GenShoah SWFL, it is likely that you know or read about someone who didn’t survive. Or someone who lost their home. Or someone who is struggling to rebuild their life again.

And for those of us who have experienced turmoil in the past, Hurricane Ian might be a stark reminder that life is precious, and we should do all we can to be the helping hand that offers hope, respite, support and remembrance to those in need.

Speaking of remembrance, it is a Jewish custom to light a 24-hour candle in remembrance of family members who have passed away. It is lit yearly on the date of their death. Since there are two different calendars that impact a Jewish family, it can be confusing as to which date is the one for lighting the yahrzeit (anniversary) candle. The solar or Gregorian calendar was established in 1582 and is commonly used in the United States and most of the world. The lunar or Hebrew calendar has been used for 5,783 years. If you know a date on one calendar, there is a way to find out its equivalent on the other calendar at JewishGen.org/ Yahrzeit. This allows you to light that yahrzeit candle on either date.

How to remember International Holocaust Remembrance Day

As many readers of this column know, the United Nations General Assembly designated Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. On this date, the “UN urges every member state to honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism and to develop education programs to help prevent future genocides.”

Light a candle for the victims of the Holocaust. If you know a Holocaust survivor, perhaps you could reach out with a phone call or visit. Visit your local Holocaust Museum. Donate to the educational programs at the local or U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). Both USHMM and the Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center in Naples (HMCEC.org) have very meaningful testimonies of local Holocaust survivors. There are now excellent books about the Holocaust written for middle- and high-school students. Grandparents and parents may want to read one of these with their grandchildren. “Th e Number on Great-Grandpa’s Arm” is a beautiful short film for ages 8 and up.

Another form of remembrance — Zoog mir in Yiddish!

A Yiddish group is being organized by Sol Awend, Felicia Anchor and Harriet Berneman. The start date is Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023, with following meetings on Sunday, Feb. 12 and Sunday, March 19. The meeting time is 4 to 6 p.m. at the Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center in Naples. If you are interested in joining this C’hevre, please contact Sol Awend (solawend@gmail.com), the author of our new Yiddish Corner. Awend has a wonderful sense of humor and a contagious, fun-loving attitude when it comes to Yiddish.

Our stories

As GenShoah works to connect its members and reach out to the community, we will focus on the writing of the stories of our parents who survived their turmoil in the past — the Holocaust. Even if your own parents provided testimony in the form of an interview or wrote their own story, it comes from a different perspective when a 2G writes the story. We are all put together from many experiences and genetic influences. Your 2G nature and nurture will emerge when you become the writer of your parents’ story.

GenShoah is planning a story writing workshop coming soon to bring together those members who have written their parents’ story and those members who are poised to begin. Membership in GenShoah SWFL is easy and requires no fee. GenShoah members are strongly encouraged to become members of the Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center. If you are interested in the promotion of Holocaust education and human rights, the preservation of history and memories of the Holocaust, the connection of the Second Generation with one another and support of the Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center, just send an email to Shelley Lieb at liebro@gmail.com to get on the GenShoah SWFL email list.

An international campaign to counter antisemitism

In addition to remembrance, action is important. Lest we forget, #ItStartedWithWords is a Holocaust education campaign created by the Claims Conference in which Holocaust survivors from around the world refl ect on the moments leading up to the Holocaust. They talk about “a time they could not have predicted — the transition their neighbors, teachers, classmates and colleagues made from words to violence — that will demonstrate how hateful language can evolve into actions with unimaginable outcomes.”

The short video that viewers are asked to help circulate is dated in two ways that reflect the different calendars noted above, Nov. 13, 2022 and 19 Chesvan, 5783. It is a relaunch of a previous campaign “to address the current rise in antisemitism, hate speech and Holocaust denial around the world.” To take a look at the short video, go to #ItStartedWithWords, then feel free to share it.

Additional events of interest

On Wednesday, Jan. 25, 11 a.m., there will be a docent tour of “Envisioning Evil – Nazi Drawings” for GenShoah members at The Baker Museum. Tickets are $10 in advance or at the door (artisnaples.org/baker-museum/admission). Follow up with lunch at the museum’s outdoor cafe. RSVP to Dorothy Schwebel at dschwebel@me.com.

“Apart,” the second film in the Movies That Matter – Steve Brazina Memorial Film Series, which was postponed because of Hurricane Ian, has now been rescheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 15. For more information, contact hmcec.org.

Jewish Book Festival of Greater Naples is presenting some Holocaust-related books, like “Overture of Hope” by Isabel Vincent on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 2 p.m. via Zoom. More information about the books and how to register can be found at jewishnaples.org.