'Just as the hand, field before the eye, can hide the taffest mountain, so the routine of everyday fife can keep us from seeing the vast radiance and the secret wonders that fill the world.' Chasidic 18th Century HAPPY NEW YEAR from the Holiday The Righteous Among The Nations MICHAEL LEVEY FAMILY Yad Vashem has a new program to honor righteous gentiles. ASTER HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING CO. RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL SERVICE * SALES * INSTALLATIONS QUALITY WORK * EVERY TIME * NO EXCUSES! BERKLEY W. BLOOMFIELD GROSSE PTE. NORTH OAKLAND 399-1800 788-9073 882-4870 682-9090 HTTR/WWW.GLOLINICCOM/AIRMASTER Wishing All Of Our Customers, Families /and Friends a Nappy & NEW YEAR! Brian, Audrey & I-lannah Klayman Alan, Amy & Stefanie gternfeld Roz, Lois, sue, Phyllis, Fran & Liz IN ORCHARD MALL • ORCHARD LAKE RD. AT MAPLE • 855-8818 KOFSKY & VIENNA N LEFKOFSKY AND RTY AND CAROL COOK CARL ALPERT Special to The Jewish News W hen Yad Vashem was set up by act of the Knesset in 1953, the idea of pay- ing tribute to non-Jews who had risked their lives (and often gave their lives) to save Jews during the Holocaust, was part of the pro- gram. However, it was not until after the Eichmann trial, some nine years later, that steps were taken to implement the idea, this at the urgent insistence of Justice Moshe Landau, who had presided over that trial. Those in charge calculated that there might be several hundred names involved, and so it was decided to set up a grove, with a tree dedicated to each of the "Righteous Among the Nations", as they were termed. Recommendations poured in. Approval was given only on the basis of substantial corroborative evidence, not just hearsay. Several hundred trees were planted, then hun- dreds more. The total reached a thousand, and then 2,000, and Yad Vashem ran out of space. The new program calls for entering each name appropriately on a special Honor Wall in the Garden of the Righteous. There are now close to 15,000 confirmed names, and plans are already being implemented to publish a master Lexicon which will comprise approximately ten volumes, divided by countries, in suitable format. Each volume will contain text in Hebrew, English and the language of the country involved, and will include historical background information. The first volume, dedicated to France, with about 1,600 names, is scheduled to appear early next year. The following volume will list close to 5,000 names from Poland. Others on the list include Holland, 4,000 names; Belgium, 900; Ukraine, 850; Czechia and Slovakia, 360; Hungary, 360; Lithuania, 360; Germany, 310; Russia and Belo- Russia, 240; Italy, 200; Greece, 200. Poland heads the list because in that country there is an official gov- ernment agency which gathers and helps authenticate information. In some other places, especially in the former Soviet Union, it has not always been easy to obtain bone fide names because even the principals concerned are not always eager to be known. It was uncomfortable to be known as a rescuer of Jews, and some were boycotted or otherwise ill-treat- ed by their neighbors. The situation in western Europe, of course, was quite different. There have been a few cases where the individual refused to accept the honor, responding, in effect, we don't need medals for having done what we thought was right. In isolated cases, the individual refused the honor because he disagreed with Israel's pol- icy toward the Palestinians. More than 60 of the Righteous have come to live in Israel, often because they married Jews. The most frequent cases are of gen- tile women who married the men they had saved. Catholics predominate on the lists because they lived in countries where the worst of the Nazi atrocities were perpetrated. No decisions have been made as yet with regard to distribution of the Lexicon — to libraries, institutions, or offered for public sale. Yad Vashem is still seeking financial support for the project. The Dutch Government recently promised support for publi- cation of the volume dedicated to deeds of Dutch citizens. Originally built to accommodate a maximum of 300,000 visitors a year, Yad Vashem now finds it necessary to expand in order to receive in excess of 1,500,000. The library contains 40 million documents, the world's largest collection on the Holocaust. The lexicon project is headed by Professor Yisrael Gutman. The chair- man of the directorate of Yad Vashem, Avner Shalev, terms it "a means by which the Jewish people can thank the Righteous Among the Nations who were sources of light in those abysmally dark years. It is important as a major source for research, and has monumental value as an educational tool of historical and humanitarian significance for the generations to come." Yad Vashem will list each name.