Metro

Remembered Forever

Photos by Jos hua Now icki

Program follows HMC's creed: illuminating the past, enlightening the future.

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ER THE SIX MILLION MARTYRS!

Judy Pasternak watches as her father Abe Pasternak of Southfield lights a
memorial candle.

Shelli Liebman Dorfman

Senior Writer

I

nside the Holocaust Memorial Center
in Farmington Hills, a standing-
room-only crowd learned of a deci-
sion to create a first-of-its kind memorial,
outside the facility.
Near the end of a Yom HaShoah
(Holocaust Memorial Day) program May 4
came an announcement by Rabbi Charles
Rosenzveig, HMC founder and CEO.
"Years ago, I led a group to the camps
and visited Auschwitz;' he told those at the
event sponsored by the HMC and Shaarit
Haplaytah. "In the process, I became
friendly with the director of Auschwitz
and I asked her, `You must have ashes from
the crematorium?"'
After several discussions, the director
agreed to allow the rabbi to bring a box
of the ashes to the United States for the
HMC. "I refused to display it because of
its gruesome nature," Rabbi Rosenzveig
said. "It may be my brother; it may be my
family; it may be yours. So, we will have a
burial of it. The ashes will be buried in a
dignified manner."
No date has been set, but the burial will
take place at a ceremony in the back yard
of the HMC Zekelman Family Campus.
The rabbi said, to the best of his knowl-

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may 8 • 2008

edge, this will be the first such burial.
The Yom HaShoah program also was
filled with remembrances, including
memorial prayers and songs from Cantor
Michael Smolash of Temple Israel, the
recitation of the Kaddish at the Center's
eternal flame and the touching music of
the Intergenerational Choir of the Jewish
Community Center in Oak Park.
Survivors and children of survivors
took part in a candlelighting ceremony in
memory of those lost in the Holocaust and
those who survived but have since died. A
candle also was lit in memory of victims
of Israeli terror.

Through Generations
A look to the future was stressed dur-
ing the afternoon event, planned along
with the Children of Holocaust Survivors
Association in Michigan (C.H.A.I.M.),
Hidden Children, Child Survivors of
Michigan and B'nai B'rith Great Lakes
Region.
"We, as the youngest survivors, need
to leave a legacy for the future," said Erna
Gorman of Hidden Children, who spoke of
the importance of recording visual memo-
ries and including children and grandchil-
dren in Holocaust programming.
Dr. Steven Grant, chairman of HMC's
executive committee, reminded all that the

The Oak Park JCC Intergeneration Choir performs under the direction of Larisa
Matusova, at right.

HMC's mission includes the vital compo-
nent of education.
In anticipation of a children's wing
being planned at the HMC, Rabbi
Rosenzveig said, "This year, we are going
to open a wing dedicated to the 1.5-
million children murdered during the
Holocaust. It will be geared for children
below age 11:'
The HMC already is frequented by the
young. "There is hardly a school district in
Michigan that doesn't send their classes
to learn about the Holocaust:' Rabbi
Rosenzveig said. "Even more important,
we have never had a school district that
started touring that didn't repeat it year
after year after year."

During the program, chaired by Saul
Waldman, Alan Zekelman and HMC
President Dr. Michael Treblin, the rabbi
called on young members of the audi-
ence. He asked them to stand beside
him on the stage and repeat a pledge,
in unison, that they will tell "the stories
and lessons of the Holocaust;' and make
certain that those who come after them
do the same.
"Every person, Jew and non-Jew, has the
obligation to make sure these lessons are
engrained in the consciousness of every
person in the world to make sure it never
happens again to any people, anywhere,
any time Rabbi Rosenzveig said.

Ethical Decisions

The Hyman and Sonia Blumenstien
Outreach Center of Bais Chabad Torah
Center in West Bloomfield, together
with Federation's Alliance with Jewish
Education, will host a six-part series
on Talmudic ethics, "Tough Decisions:
What Would You Do?"
The course will discuss issues such
as abortion, euthanasia, freedom of
expression and fair business prac-
tices. Classes will be given on six con-
secutive Wednesdays beginning

May 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Max Fisher
Federation Building, 6735 Telegraph
Road, Bloomfield Township.
Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg of the
Torah Center will lead the class. This
course is a project of the Jewish
Learning Institute of the worldwide
Chabad movement.
To enroll, call Marion Bronstein
at (248) 626-4260, ext. 372; the
Torah Center, (248) 855-6170; or visit
www.myJLl.com .