Today we light our candle of remembrance.
On April 19, 1943 the Jewish community in the Warsaw ghetto rose up against their captors in a valiant effort to regain their freedom and return a common humanity to those intent on destroying their very existence. Jews around the world pay tribute to Yom Ha Shoah on 27 Nissan: a day commemorating what we call the Holocaust. Shoah means literally "catastrophe."
We light a candle because anytime life is annihilated we are all diminished. This light reminds us that we hold both the responsibility and privilege to live lives that work in pursuit of justice for all—but especially for those who are marginalized and oppressed. We work for those whose stories we have not yet heard enough to change our hearts and our way of living. These words scratched into a wall in Auschwitz remind us to listen further still that we might remember:
I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining.
I believe in love even when I don’t feel it.
believe in God even when...silent.
For all those intentions which rest in the silent sanctuary or our hearts, may the white light of this flame burn brightly and bring you peace.