October 30, 1998 Southeastern Virginia Jewish News
Holocaust Commission and Chrysler Museum
mark 60th anniversary of Kristallnacht, Nov. 8
Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m., the
Holocaust Commission of the
United JeWish Federation of Tide-
water and The Chrysler Museum
of Art will join together to mark
the 60th anniversary of Kristall-
nacht. Kristallnacht, or "the night
of broken glass," was an organized
pogrom on Nov. 9, 1938, in Ger-
many which broke the dam of
hatred and violence against Euro-
pean Jewry by the Nazis and fully
opened the door to the beginning
of the Holocaust, foreshadowing
the creation of the "Final Solu-
tion."
After coming to power in 1933,
the Nazis had systematically
stripped, German Jews of their
basic civil rights and any real free-
dom to live and work in Germany
through the Nuremburg Laws.
As skilled propagandists, the
Nazis were waiting only for an
excuse to escalate their anti-Semit-
ic agenda to a more comprehen-
sive and systematic plan to rid
Germany of Jews. Herschel Gryn-
szpan, a young Jewish student, liv-
ing in Paris, provided it for them.
On Nov. 7, 1938, outraged that his
parents had been deported from
Germany to Poland, he went to the
Germany embassy in Paris to
assassinate the German ambas-
sador and mistakenly shot Coun-
selor Ernst von Rath instead.
Ernst yon Rath died on Nov. 9
and that evening and for the next
48 hours, as the German police and
fire fighters stood by without inter-
vening, thousands of shops and
homes were destroyed and over
1000 synagogues were burned to
the ground. Hundred of Jews were
suddenly pulled from their homes,
publically humiliated, beaten or
murdered, often by their neighbors.
30,000 Jews were arrested and sent
to concentration camps. The sud-
den influx of prisoners was so
great that the concentration camps
of Dachau, Buchenwald and
Sachenhausen had to be expanded.
To mark the anniversary David
Katz, a member of the Holocaust
commission and a witness to
Kristallnacht, will speak in The
Chrysler Museum's auditorium at
2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8. The pro-
gram is free with museum admis-
sion.
Also currently at the museum in
the photography gallery is the
exhibition, "Written in Memory:
Portraits of the Holocaust." The
works combine the testimony of
Holocaust survivors with their con-
temporary portraits, juxtaposed
with faded snapshots of the same
survivors from the past. The exhib-
it continued through Dec. 13:
Those wishing further informa-
tion may call The Chrysler Muse-
um of Art at 664-6200 or the UJFT
at 671-1600.
Beginner's Service at B'nai Israel Nov. 14
The "Beginner's Service" can
now be found in synagogues and
temples all over the United States,
and starting on Saturday, Nov. 14,
the Beginner's Service will be
found in Southeastern Virginia.
Offered at B'nai Israel Congrega-
tion in Norfolk, the service will be
led each week by Rabbi Yosef
Friedman.
Twenty three years ago, a phe-
nomenon began in synagogue
worship in the United States that
forever changed the way tens of
thousands of people view prayer.
In 1975. the world-renowned
Lincoln Square Synagogue in
New York City began the
"Beginner's Service" as the first
special service for "people with
little or no background." The
service started with only three
members, one of whom was the
avante garde composer, Steve
Reich. It was at Reich's sugges-
tion that a Beginner's Service
was inaugurated, as he and his
wife, Bery] Korot, the weaver,
were searching for a way to
become more familiar with the
"traditional Hebrew Sabbath ser-
vices.
In a very short time, the Begin-
ner's Service became an extreme-
ly popular and well attended Sab-
bath service, to the extent that the
synagogue had to stop publicizing
its existence. Attendees include
people fromall walks of life.
High school students and grand-
mothers, doctors and lawyers, as
well as -a large number of people
in the arts and literary fields.
One of the Broadway actors,
Eddie Jacobs, who appeared in
Barnum, eventually moved to
Israel to study in a Yeshiva and
married the daughter of Rabbi
Shlomo Riskin, the founder of the
beginner delivers the D'var Torah
(Torah message) relating to the
weekly Torah portion.
The service that will be held at
B'nai Israel will begin at 9 a.m. "I
know that it is early," Rabbi Fried-
man conceded, "but I feel very
strongly about being the one to
lead this program, and frankly, I
need to be back in the main Sanc-
tuary by 10 a.m. for the Torala
reading.'"
Friedman explained that the
service will cover the main parts
of the morning liturgy, including
many of the songs that are sung
by the congregation. "A key part
of the program is the educational
component. We will be spending
quite a bit of time explaining the
'why's and the 'what's and the
'how's of prayer." Following the
service, at 10 a.m., participants
will be free to join the congrega-
tion for the rest of the service, or
leave perhaps to attend other
synagogues in town.
The Beginner's Service is open
to the entire community. There is
no fee to attend. Those wishing
more information may call the
synagogue office at 627-7358.
"Holocaust Poem" marks 60th anniversary
of infamous Kristallnacht in Germany
(Editor's Note: - the following "Holocaust Poem" wta- written by Aaron Friednum,
a 14-year old grandson of Herbert and JoyceFriedman of Tulewater. On Nov. 14,
the world will commemorate the 60th osmiversary of Kristallnacht. Herbert Fried-
man, who lived in Henna at the time, was fortunate to be fleeing Auxtria on a
Kindertransport on his 14th birthday in 1938. Most of his family ,was deported and
did not survive. Aaron, who is the son of Mark and Ellen Friedman of Baltimore,
wrote the poem in memo O" of that day)
Holocaust Poem
by Aaron Friedman
Walking through the halls of the living dead
Dead in body
But alive through their stories,
That are repeated over and over.
I reflect and realize
What would happen if I was
at the selection on the platform of
Auschwitz?
I look strong
I might have been selected to live
And to toil endlessly
To prolong the hell that had engulfed the
world and my life.
What of my family,
My brothers and mother would almost
certainly perish
in the gas chambers
And rot as ash in the crematorium.
My father might live,
But probably not.
ff this happened
I would be alone
Just as the souls
Of the living dead•
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