Submission #21699 by Etz Chaim Men's Club - Marietta, GA (1711)
I have read the 2021 Torch Awards Program Guidelines.
Enriching the Kaddish Experience with Yellow Candles
Jewish Observance
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Enriching the Kaddish Experience with Yellow Candles
The Yellow Candle-Kaddish Project introduces the daily lighting an FJMC Yellow Candle in the Etz Chaim Holocaust & Memorial Garden. The candle-lighting ritual is conducted in conjunction with the evening Ma'ariv service and is performed by a Congregant reciting Kaddish.
The Yellow Candle-Kaddish Project introduces the daily lighting an FJMC Yellow Candle in the Etz Chaim Holocaust & Memorial Garden. The candle-lighting ritual is conducted in conjunction with the evening Ma'ariv service and is performed by a Congregant reciting Kaddish.
OVERVIEW
Reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish for a loved one is one of the most soulful traditions of Judaism, and no ritual more strongly embodies Dor L’Dor (דור לדור) “One Generation to Another.”
The Kaddish praises – without mentioning – G-d; it has endured more than a thousand years and touches a special place in our heart and memory as the words are spoken. To supplement the words of the Kaddish, a Yartzheit candle adds light through the night and day of memory.
The FJMC Yellow Candle Project commemorating Holocaust victims added a new level of remembrance, helping more fully to recall and remember the victims of Nazi horror.
BACKGROUND
Over the years, Etz Chaim Men’s Club has undertaken special activities to enhance the understanding and broaden the reach of the Yellow Candles:
• Packaging and distributing to Etz Chaim congregants five Yellow Candles to remember Holocaust victim not only on Holocaust Remembrance Day (יום השואה) – but ALSO on each of the days the Yartzheit service is traditionally recited: Yom Kippur, Pesach, Shavuot and Succoth
• Distribution of Yellow Candles to the Catholic Church of St. Ann with whom we have shared Holocaust Remembrance Day Memorial Services for a dozen years
ENRICHING THE KADDISH EXPERIENCE WITH YELLOW CANDLES
Revitalization
The synagogue’s Holocaust Garden, erected in the 1990s, had fallen into neglect and disrepair. Men’s Club salvaged the fading garden and the Holocaust monument, and the re-dedication ceremony was attended by hundreds of congregants, along with religious and lay leaders from across the city.
The beautifully rebuilt and enlarged Holocaust & Memorial Garden – with engraved bricks bearing solemn memorial testimony – is a welcoming oasis of peace, attracting visitors seeking a place of solitude and quiet remembrance.
GENESIS OF THE PROJECT
Some years ago, as part of our annual Holocaust Memorial Day held jointly with the Catholic Church of St. Ann, members of both faith communities lit 365 Yellow Candles to symbolize daily remembrance of the Holocaust.
The memory of the stirring event lingered, but the “Yellow Candle-Kaddish" Project was kindled by a haunting conversation one Shabbat with an ageing Etz Chaim member... a Holocaust survivor:
“Why,” he was asked, “do you recite Kaddish every Shabbat?”
“Because,” he answered, “I don’t know when my parents died.”
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared the Tenth day of Teveth to recite Kaddish for those whose exact date of death is unknown, but the personal anguish in his answer inspired us to create an environment in our own Holocaust & Memorial Garden and to incorporate FJMC Yellow Candles.
IMPLEMENTATION
With input from congregants and our St. Ann neighbors, we understood that visitors to the Garden welcomed a way to express their solidarity with Holocaust victims, even as they visited the site to remember loved ones.
We designed and commissioned an artistic structure; the ark-like pedestal displays a map of the Holocaust & Memorial Garden landmarks and a QR code that links to more detailed explanations of the Garden's treasures.
It also includes a niche - protected from the elements - for placing a candle as a personal tribute. Each evening after Ma’ariv services, a Congregant observing Kaddish will light a Yellow Candle.
As Ma’ariv services continue to be held virtually during the COVID pandemic, Men’s Club volunteers have established a schedule to tend the lighting and ensure that a Yellow Candle burns daily.
Reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish for a loved one is one of the most soulful traditions of Judaism, and no ritual more strongly embodies Dor L’Dor (דור לדור) “One Generation to Another.”
The Kaddish praises – without mentioning – G-d; it has endured more than a thousand years and touches a special place in our heart and memory as the words are spoken. To supplement the words of the Kaddish, a Yartzheit candle adds light through the night and day of memory.
The FJMC Yellow Candle Project commemorating Holocaust victims added a new level of remembrance, helping more fully to recall and remember the victims of Nazi horror.
BACKGROUND
Over the years, Etz Chaim Men’s Club has undertaken special activities to enhance the understanding and broaden the reach of the Yellow Candles:
• Packaging and distributing to Etz Chaim congregants five Yellow Candles to remember Holocaust victim not only on Holocaust Remembrance Day (יום השואה) – but ALSO on each of the days the Yartzheit service is traditionally recited: Yom Kippur, Pesach, Shavuot and Succoth
• Distribution of Yellow Candles to the Catholic Church of St. Ann with whom we have shared Holocaust Remembrance Day Memorial Services for a dozen years
ENRICHING THE KADDISH EXPERIENCE WITH YELLOW CANDLES
Revitalization
The synagogue’s Holocaust Garden, erected in the 1990s, had fallen into neglect and disrepair. Men’s Club salvaged the fading garden and the Holocaust monument, and the re-dedication ceremony was attended by hundreds of congregants, along with religious and lay leaders from across the city.
The beautifully rebuilt and enlarged Holocaust & Memorial Garden – with engraved bricks bearing solemn memorial testimony – is a welcoming oasis of peace, attracting visitors seeking a place of solitude and quiet remembrance.
GENESIS OF THE PROJECT
Some years ago, as part of our annual Holocaust Memorial Day held jointly with the Catholic Church of St. Ann, members of both faith communities lit 365 Yellow Candles to symbolize daily remembrance of the Holocaust.
The memory of the stirring event lingered, but the “Yellow Candle-Kaddish" Project was kindled by a haunting conversation one Shabbat with an ageing Etz Chaim member... a Holocaust survivor:
“Why,” he was asked, “do you recite Kaddish every Shabbat?”
“Because,” he answered, “I don’t know when my parents died.”
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared the Tenth day of Teveth to recite Kaddish for those whose exact date of death is unknown, but the personal anguish in his answer inspired us to create an environment in our own Holocaust & Memorial Garden and to incorporate FJMC Yellow Candles.
IMPLEMENTATION
With input from congregants and our St. Ann neighbors, we understood that visitors to the Garden welcomed a way to express their solidarity with Holocaust victims, even as they visited the site to remember loved ones.
We designed and commissioned an artistic structure; the ark-like pedestal displays a map of the Holocaust & Memorial Garden landmarks and a QR code that links to more detailed explanations of the Garden's treasures.
It also includes a niche - protected from the elements - for placing a candle as a personal tribute. Each evening after Ma’ariv services, a Congregant observing Kaddish will light a Yellow Candle.
As Ma’ariv services continue to be held virtually during the COVID pandemic, Men’s Club volunteers have established a schedule to tend the lighting and ensure that a Yellow Candle burns daily.
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Original Program
Gold