EPISODE · Apr 14, 2026 · 19 MIN
From Auschwitz to a Wedding Dance - What Yom Hashoah Means This Year | 10@9 | 2026.04.14
from Mining The Riches Of The Parsha · host Rabbi Michael Whitman
Today is Yom Hashoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day. We tell the story every year. We say: never again. And yet, the question lingers - has the world actually changed? Drawing on the haunting words of Elie Wiesel, we confront a painful possibility: that memory alone does not transform humanity. But if memory is not enough - what is? Through the story of Cathy Lawi, a trauma specialist in Israel, we explore two radically different responses to helplessness - shaped by histories from France and Iraq - and what they reveal about how people rebuild after devastation. And then, one final image: A 97-year-old survivor, Dov Landau, dancing at his great-grandson’s wedding. In one moment, he lifts his sleeve - revealing the number etched into his arm in Auschwitz. In the next, he continues to dance. What does it mean to remember - not just the past, but the responsibility it places on us now? This is not just about history. It’s about what we do with it - this year. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.
What this episode covers
Today is Yom Hashoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day. We tell the story every year. We say: never again. And yet, the question lingers - has the world actually changed? Drawing on the haunting words of Elie Wiesel, we confront a painful possibility: that memory alone does not transform humanity. But if memory is not enough - what is? Through the story of Cathy Lawi, a trauma specialist in Israel, we explore two radically different responses to helplessness - shaped by histories from France and Iraq - and what they reveal about how people rebuild after devastation. And then, one final image: A 97-year-old survivor, Dov Landau, dancing at his great-grandson’s wedding. In one moment, he lifts his sleeve - revealing the number etched into his arm in Auschwitz. In the next, he continues to dance. What does it mean to remember - not just the past, but the responsibility it places on us now? This is not just about history. It’s about what we do with it - this year. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.
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From Auschwitz to a Wedding Dance - What Yom Hashoah Means This Year | 10@9 | 2026.04.14
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