FJMC TORCH AWARDS:
Best Holocaust Remembrance Programs

In commemoration of our synagogue’s Golden 50th Jubilee Year, and to create a distinctive fund-raising project, we have commissioned the creation of our own Sefer Haftarah which we are dedicating to the “Children of the Shoah” as an enduring and lasting liturgical legacy to them.

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The program began with a Holocaust Education program designed to interest both children and adults. Then two rescued Torahs, one repaired and placed in the Aron Kodesh and the other damaged beyond repair and placed in a specifically designed cabinet in the synagogue lobby, were dedicated as Holocaust Memorials.

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Club organized a tour of the new Holocaust Memorial Center (HMC) located in Farmington Hills. This was followed by a personal talk to the group by a Men’s Club member and survivor.

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This program was a major memorial breakfast and activity held to commemorate the Warsaw Ghetto Resistance, including several programs held in conjunction with the major event. It was initiated to involve a cross-generational involvement and expand congregational participation.

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This program used stones salvaged from the Warsaw Ghetto as a basis to build a Memorial Garden on synagogue grounds as a reminder of the Holocaust. Funds received provide an on-going educational program for students and visitors.

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This program refutes the passiveness of Jewish victims, showing that there were more involved in resistance than was previously judged. It involved a series of lectures and movies that dealt with Jewish heroism.

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By using the funds generated through the FJMC's Yellow Candle program, the Men's Club of Congregation Beth Judea was able to successfully design, fund, and build a permanent outdoor memorial garden that will serve to remind generations of those killed in the Holocaust.

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The Beth Tikvah Men's Club organized a program to bring the story of the Holocaust to the children of Osceola Middle School in Okeechobee, FL. Four speakers rotated through four class sessions and presented their experiences to the 8th grade. Time for questions and answers was scheduled in each session.

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The South Jersey Men's Club held a Candle Twinning Program, in which it distributes white yahrzeit candles with yellow Holocaust Memorial Candles. Persons are encouraged to light a yellow candle in memory of those killed on the same date as the passing of a loved one. By permission of the author, each bimonthly edition features an event from the years 1938-194 from the book Every Day, Remembrance Day by famed Nazi hunter, Simon Wiesenthal.

This two-part program taught adults and youth about the Holocaust as well as about the tragic conditions of survivors following the war. The program involved the showing of the Oscar-winning film, "The Long Way Home," followed a month later by a brunch with a Survivor from the film as the guest speaker. The film was also shown to the Confirmation class.

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Candle donations were used to erect a Holocaust memorial in the synagogue lobby. The wall-sized sculpture is constructed from sand-blasted glass with a ray of light emanating from its dark interior. More than 300 people attended a moving unveiling ceremony, which included solemn readins of victims' names.

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Beth Abraham's Men's Club sponsored a highly successful Dayton film premiere of the Oscar-winning film, "The Long Way Home." The screening was held in conjunction with an annual deli supper/raffle to raise funds for the synagogue.

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The Temple Israel Men's Club distributed more than 650 Yellow Candles to congregants and raised more than $3200 to help fund their first annual Youth Mission to Washington, DC. The pre-B'nai Mitzvah class and their parents processed the candles for mailing, created posters, and participated in the community Holocaust Memorial Service. Over Memorial Day weekend, 26 students and 20 parents traveled to Washington and toured the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and other sites.

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The Mishkan Tefila Brotherhood presented a Memorial Breakfast, concluding with responsive readings, remarks by the mayor, lighting of Yad Vashem Menorah candles by survivors and Yellow Candles by all others who wished, a special recitation by the cantor, and a musical portion featuring children from the Hebrew School. A survivor of Auschwitz related his story. The Brotherhood assembled an educational program booklet for distribution to the Hebrew School.

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The Agudas Achim Men's Club program focused on the publication of memoirs of their Holocaust survivors, their children, and others who have been affected, and the telling of the stories to the Hebrew School students. The memoirs and photographs were included in a 136-page book that was given to students in the School, sold to congregants, and donated to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and libraries. The authors took part in a Hebrew School question-and-answer program that included lighting the Yellow Candle.

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The Beth Shalom Men's Club expanded it Yellow Candle program into a further-reaching education vehicle for the congregation and the community. It was augmented by tying Yom Hashoah with Men's Club Shabbat, by bringing in a speaker on pre-Holocaust German psychology, and by working with our Holocaust Committee and library to create a week-long program. The program and exhibits were successful attractions, and the Club raised a substantial amount of money for the Temple Holocaust Memorial.

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The Valley Beth Shalom Men's Club ran a Friday night service in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the camps by the Allies. It featured a candle for each of six categories – those who perished, survivors, resisters, liberators, and our future (represented by grandchildren of survivors). Each candle had a speaker – mostly eye witnesses. The talks were linked with the Sabbath prayers by commentaries and songs. The service attracted about 600 people, which was triple the usual attendance.

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No write-up provided.

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The Beth Shalom Men's Club used the Yom Hashoah Candle Program to start a congregational Holocaust Memorial Garden to remember those who were killed during the Holocaust.

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During its annual Yom Hashoah program, the Beth El Ner Tamid Men's Club dedicated a Czechoslovakian Holocaust Torah.

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Temple Beth Haverim's Men's Club observed Erev Yom Hashoah with a candle-lit Yizkor service in memory of the six million Jews who were murdered during World War II, with an Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor in attendance. A Catholic priest expressed deepest sympathies on behalf of the hearts of humanity. Representatives from the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Beit HaShoah (Museum of Tolerance) were also present, and excerpts from the film Genocide were shown. Finally, the Men's Club donated a more than 300-year old Holocaust Torah to the children of the congregation. In conjunction with this program, the Men's Club raised more than $4,500 in contributions through the Yellow Candle Program.

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The Men's Club of Nevey Shalom used the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as the focus of it program. The entry describes how the Club conducted a year-long fund raising campaign involving the Yellow Candle Program, provided a tour of the Museum, and climaxed the campaign with a Men's Club Shabbat dinner and service devoted to the Museum. All proceeds – nearly $7,000 – were contributed to the Museum.

This year's Brotherhood Shabbat was unique inasmuch as it was held in conjunction with Yom Hashoah. The Mishkan Tefila Brotherhood utilized the service to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The guest speaker discussed the Warsaw Ghetto and the special significance of Polish anti-semitism. Along the bimah were 50 lit FJMC Yellow Candles. A special program book which contained background information and special prayers was distributed to attendees.

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More than 1,000 persons attended the Sinai Temple Men's Club's Holocaust Remembrance/Yom Hashoah program this year. The focus was the gift of a Holocaust Torah that was saved by a Men's Club member who had escaped from a Nazi concentration camp. The entry describes the program itself and related activities.

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The Beth Jacob-Beth Israel Men's Club dispelled the often heard notion that only the big clubs have the capacity to present elaborate programs. Though having only 30 members, the Men's Club sponsored a nine-day Yom Hashoah program that included the distribution of candles, the presentation of an exhibit of Holocaust memorabilia, programs for children of the Religious School, special services, and a breakfast featuring Holocaust survivors.

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The Ahavath Achim Men's Club joined forces with a Reformed congregation to distribute the FJMC's Yom Hashoah candle throughout the Atlanta area and to educate Jewish religious leaders about the Holocaust. The submission was well documented with photos and publicity.