A Nation Says ‘Kaddish’
Flags flew at half-staff. People on the street made a stronger-than-usual effort to meet each others\’ eyes, acknowledging the sadness of the day.
Flags flew at half-staff. People on the street made a stronger-than-usual effort to meet each others\’ eyes, acknowledging the sadness of the day.
This Sunday marks the eighth year that the Los Angeles Holocaust Monument in Pan Pacific Park will serve as the local centerpiece of the annual Worldwide Holocaust Memorial Day, in memory of the 6 million Jews who were murdered in Europe at the hands of the Nazi regime. Hosted this year by the Los Angeles Holocaust Memorial Monument Fund, The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and Second Generation, the Yom HaShoah gathering is expected to attract more than 2,500 people.
On this bright September afternoon, Zion Square, at the bottom of Jerusalem\’s downtown Ben Yehuda outdoor mall, is the usual confusion of pedestrian traffic — shoppers, students, soldiers, tourists, all hurrying about their business in every direction. A few minutes after 1 p.m., a small group of men and women joins the throng, bringing a little flock of children and strollers into the middle of the square. One of the men somewhat uncertainly unrolls a hand-lettered sign that says, in Hebrew, \”Prayer Vigil,\” and the group stands in a tight circle, reading psalms from prayer books in low voices.
Once upon a time, we celebrated holidays and honored men and women and moments from our past as though they were charged with meaning. Armistice Day, Independence Day, Lincoln\’s birthday.
Actors Leo Penn and Eileen Ryan are husband and wife and the starsof Graham Reid\’s \”Remembrance\” at the Odyssey Theatre. And their son,Sean, the movie star and director, has put up much of the money to bring them together onstage for the first time in 40 years.\n