Sacred Resistance

Newsletter April 17, 2022 Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

Tonight we light a candle for the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. For the five million also killed who were people with disabilities, or those who were Catholic or queer or Roma, or who were killed for their political beliefs. And also for those who fit many of these categories all at once. 

We also know that the Holocaust has never only been about victimhood. Unwieldy amounts of power and hate coalesced to form literal centers of killing and death, but in big and in small ways, the people resisted.

We live in a time when there is no shortage of interest in acts of resistance like the Warsaw ghetto uprising, and the activities of the White Rose leaflet company, and also in the spiritual resistance of those who risked their own lives to preserve the dignity of others. Some did this by sharing a morsel of bread with another, hiding families in homes, or through fervent prayer or ritual. There are many accounts of resistance in many forms. I’m always completely amazed with the story of the family who, in 1931, pridefully placed their Hanukkah menorah on their windowsill opposite the Nazi banner. 

At Keeping It Sacred, today we pause to honor those whose lives were snuffed out by hate in the Holocaust, and to also recognize that the resistance continues. We resist by remembering what we have overcome. We resist by uplifting human dignity wherever it is threatened. We resist by magnifying the great light of Torah and its central tenet that we must love our neighbor as ourselves. (Leviticus 19:18)

In the pages of this newsletter, you will find opportunities to remember on this sacred day. And you will also find invitations to join our community in keeping the light of Torah lit for all, with accessible, relevant, and empowering programming. See the creativity and thoughtfulness of our members. Learn the wisdom of the sages. Meet hatred with love through acts of social service and social justice. Continue the tradition of questioning everything and living intentionally.

In all of these ways and more, may we honor the memories of the deceased, and may their memories be a blessing.

Together, we’re #keepingitsacred….

Rabbi Heather Miller

Founder, Keeping It Sacred

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The above is an excerpt from a Keeping It Sacred newsletter. If you want to read the entire newsletter or any from our archives, please head over to: keepingitsacred.com/news 

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Thanks for your interest, and thanks for #keepingitsacred...