The Changing Face of Holocaust Commemoration in American Modern Orthodox Synagogues

Holocaust commemoration in American Modern Orthodox synagogues has undergone a significant change in the last few decades. Beginning in the 1960s, there were many programs devoted to remembering the Holocaust which were well attended. But in the last number of decades or so, there have been changes in the types of programs these synagogues have sponsored. This chapter draws upon the author’s own experiences as the son of a liberator whose repeated focus on what he saw and did at the end of World War II provided a central narrative of the author’s childhood, and as an American Orthodox pulpit rabbi for close to four decades who has had first-hand experiences with this phenomenon, both those of his own as well as those of his rabbinic colleagues and students. The author locates his own experiences within a broader framework, presenting a number of insights into the evolution of Holocaust commemoration among American Modern Orthodox synagogues during the past 30 to 40 years.