Last night, on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, we gathered for a meaningful workshop session.
Each of us shared personal stories or memories connected to our families during the time of the Holocaust.
Adina Nach, who is both a facilitator in our workshop and a mentor in Collective Lavo B’tov, shared :
“Since I was a child, the Holocaust has deeply affected me. My parents survived and made it to Israel, but they never spoke about that time. Still, we always knew it had been incredibly hard. We also knew that my father was a cousin of Mordechai Anielewicz, the leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.”
“Back in high school, trips to Poland weren’t yet a thing. But as a university student, I joined a delegation of blind and visually impaired students. The entire visit moved me deeply. The most powerful moment came when we stood at the ruins of Mordechai Anielewicz’s bunker in Warsaw, Poland. I asked one of the participants, who is completely blind, to recite Kaddish. I was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion and tears. In that moment, I saw my late father standing beside me, proud and tall. Proud that his daughter stood here, as a Jew, a woman with a disability, and a relative of Mordechai Anielewicz — three victories all at once.”
“Many people don’t know that the Nazis also had a ‘Final Solution’ for people with disabilities.” “I looked around at the group — all of us blind or visually impaired — and I smiled”.
“Am Yisrael Chai.”