Jews add “Book of Shoah” the Bible
The Holocaust is becoming a religion
by Vincent Reynouard
The press announced that Jews have added a “Book of Shoah” to the Bible
This is not a new article but the religious status of the Shoah is even more pronounced today than at the time this piece was written. Moreover, the project has not been abandoned. (Shoabloger) [
On 30 March 2004, the national Belgian daily “La Libre Belgique” featured a front page headline: “A book about the Holocaust in the Jewish Bible? “. Two weeks later, the newspaper Le Figaro repeated the story.
[1] The reader could learn that a new Megillat (in Hebrew – a scroll which contains a manuscript, often a sacred text), the “Melligat Hashoah”, had been crafted at the liberal synagogue in Brighton (England). It would now be offered to different Jewish communities around the world, not only “
to be copied and integrated into the liturgy of 27 Nisan“ (Holocaust Day)
[2][/COLOR], but also to “
take place in the ‘holy ark’ in synagogues generally, alongside scrolls of the Torah “
[3].
It was therefore a question of adding to the twenty-four books that make up the Jewish Bible a twenty-fifth dealing with the Holocaust. Recall that the latest addition to the holy book dates back to 1500 years ago when between 400 and 600 rabbis had decided to include the Book of Esther. This shows the importance of the event.
A several years old project
Although presented as a kind of scoop, this case is not new. The Melligat Hashoah was presented for the first time on 7 November 2002 (64th anniversary of the “Kristallnacht”) to the Jewish community in Toronto. The first reading took place in synagogues in 2003, April 29, on the “Day of Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust” [5].
It all began in 1995
It all began in 1995. Worried by the the rise of “denial”, a “Holocaust survivor” living in Toronto, Alex Eisen, felt he had to create a liturgy for April 29[color=#0000ff] “to make sure that the tragedy would not be forgotten “[6]. At that time, there had already been four annual, 24 hours long, ceremonies of public reading of the names deported Jews, organized on the date of 27 Nisan. This initiative marked a beginning of ritualization of the Holocaust. But the goal of A. Eisen was greater: it was to raise the alleged “Holocaust” to the status of revealed truth, “truth” solemnly recalled every year.
The Jews oppose the project Apprised of the project, the Chief Rabbi of Israel Meir Lau, rejected on the grounds of religious orthodoxy [7]. We can add that for many Jews, the commemoration of the Holocaust should remain in the non-religious sphere. In 2000, the president of a local branch of the “Sons and Daughters of Survivors of the Holocaust,” Ruth Littner Shaw wrote that “Yom Hashoah” should not
“have the character of a religious holiday “[8] and should remain a simple commemoration.
Rabbis and theologians support the project This first setback did not discourage A. Eisen. For their part, the rabbis and theologians believed that in order to persist (especially after the death of the last “survivors”), Yom Hashoah had to develop
“a set of rituals and to become less secular”. [9]
According to Rabbi David Golinkin, current president of
Schecter Institute, an institution that is responsible for religious education:
Judaism retains the memory of historical events only when they are rooted in religious rituals [...]. The lighting of six torches by survivors in the courtyard of Yad Vashem is a meaningful ritual, but will it continue when there will be no more survivors? [10]
These words are similar to those of Rabbi Daniel Fahri who said:
In Judaism, the work on the preservation of the past is consists of liturgy, study and ritual. However, with regard to the Holocaust, almost nothing has been done so far to develop a ritualized memory. Beyond the celebration of Yom Hashoah, any initiative is welcome as long as it is based on the long tradition of our rituals and our liturgy which have constituted our identity throughout millennia. [11]
In addition, it is undeniable that since the war many Jews have fallen into atheism on the grounds that if God Almighty exist, he would never have let his people get slaughtered. One example is the former Liberal Rabbi Richard Rubenstein, author of a 1966 study entitled “After Auschwitz” who became an atheist. Rabbi David Meyer confessed that for Jews, the Holocaust is a “reason to doubt God and His righteousness” [12]. Furthermore, he stated:
[...] Today, the issues related to the Holocaust hamper our faith. Why practice the commandments if God did not saved us during the Holocaust? [13]
Consequently the proposed development of a religious ritual seemed to be necessary not only to transmit the memory, but also as an attempt to reconcile the Holocaust with the Jewish religion.
1999: Rabbinical Assembly endorses the project In 1997 a small prayer book which included a special service for 27 Nisan was published. But A. Eisen was still not satisfied. Two years later, he met Rabbi D. Golinkin and requested its approval by the Rabbinical Assembly, which includes 1,600 Conservative rabbis. [14] Not surprisingly, it gave its approval to the project. D. Golinkin then set up an academic committee to prepare a draft text (Id.). Professor Avigdor Shinan (son of survivors [15]) was chosen to compose the modern Hebrew
Megillat and Rabbi Jules Harlow to produce an English translation. [16] For his part, A. Eisen gathered $280 000 in Toronto alone to support the project. [17]
The Shoah Scroll composed Six months later, the scroll was composed. Six chapters long, it places great emphasis on “testimonials”. There is that of a Christian journalist who tells what he saw in the Warsaw ghetto, that of a woman deported to a camp and that of a young Jewish boy forced to pull out gold teeth of victims on the way to crematoria (including his own brother). Nothing in it, therefore, is either new nor solid (but how could it be otherwise?). The fifth chapter is a eulogy of those who died during the “Holocaust.” The sixth (and last) refers to the rebuilding of Jewish life after the war it commemorates particularly those who migrated to Israel.
2002: the “inspired” Scroll is presented for the first time November 7, 2002, during the first presentation of the
Megillah (see document), A. Shinan stated that the text was written “
through him, not by him“:
I sat at my computer, and after six hours, the first draft appeared [...]. It was as if someone lead my hands and my head. [18]
A. Shinan undoubtedly wanted to make it appear that the
Megillah was “inspired” by God and thus “revealed”, like the other books of the Bible.
But even for Jews fanatical about “Remembrance”, there are limits to ridicule. Asked in 2004 by La “Libre Belgique”, the British rabbi who is busy spreading this new text, David Meyer, clearly stated:
As for the direct divine inspiration, Judaism believes that it has not taken place since the destruction of the First Temple and the last of the prophets. [19]
However, the reasons he gives for the introduction of the
Megillah in the Bible are interesting. He says:
[...] Many Jews are “inspired” by the Holocaust in the way they think about their faith and religious practice. Thus, because of the depth of suffering, the Holocaust is an event that “inspires” the present and the future of Judaism and, as such, the “Megillat Hashoah” can probably claim to be an “inspired” text [Ibid., col. C].
God alone is no longer sufficient, He needs to be combined with the Holocaust For Rabbi Meyer, therefore, God is no longer the only source of inspiration, there is one other: the Holocaust. We deduce that, since Auschwitz, God alone is no longer sufficient and consequently the Jewish religion must be centered not on him only, but on the couple God+Shoah.
Some will accuse me of exaggerating. They are wrong. Interviewed, Rabbi Meyer clearly stated that since the Shoah “
which overwrites Judaism” [Ibid., P. 19, col. E], the Bible was insufficient to nourish the religious reflection:
It is difficult to relate to biblical texts that speak of suffering to understand the Holocaust. [...] In the Bible, suffering is never unjustified; it happens “because we did something.” But faced with the Holocaust, the vast majority of rabbis and Jewish thinkers today are not prepared to contemplate the six million dead, a million and a half children, and say “Because of their sins” [... ]. So we need a text where Jews can express their doubts in relation to this suffering. But such a text does not exist in the Bible. Should we not then create it? [20]
The good rabbi went even further by saying that this creation was necessary to “
restore vitality to all other biblical texts“
[...] Whenever I read a biblical passage – the sacrifice of Abraham, the prophetic books and the book of Job … – I wonder how to apply this with the ever-present Holocaust in my mind! But the addition of a specific book would become the focus of the reflection on the Holocaust and thereby restore vitality to all the other biblical texts [Ibid., P. 19, col. E.].
In short, without the liturgy of the Shoah, the Bible has no vitality. In other words, God is now inseparable from the “Holocaust” and together they form an Entity. It is therefore understandable that for David Golinkin this
Megillat has a “
historical significance“. [21]
The Scroll will be written by a scribe on parchment But Rabbi Meyer, this was not enough:
While bringing innovations aimed at integrating Yom Hashoah as a major commemoration in our liturgical calendar, and while offering content of remarkable depth, it seems that the format and the current support of the Megillat Hashoah are not sufficient in view of the role that such a text should play in the future of Judaism.Megillat Hashoah the – booklet of mere sixty pages – should it not rather be a real manuscript, written by a scribe on a parchment, thus complying with the scribal rules of our ancestral tradition? In order to commemorate the past, it seems necessary to integrate it with our tradition, with date and liturgy, using the “tools” of this tradition so that the events of the past can be really rooted in our religious life. [22]
That is why Rabbi Meyer fashioned a real Megillat: The “Megillat Hashoah” the Shoah Scroll, is a parchment manuscript with 12 columns in Hebrew and comes wrapped around a wooden shaft. This scroll was written by a scribe, Marc Michaels, following the traditional rules which include the calligraphy, the tools even the ethics of conduct of the scribe. [23]
A scroll that will be used extensively Not only in the synagogues… If the Megillat gets accepted, not only Jewish believers can hope to return to the faith some of their own atheists, but also the belief in the Holocaust will be cast in concrete forever, because it becomes inseparable from God. Note also that the good rabbi wants to see this new roller used very widely:
We would like it to be used not only in synagogues, but throughout the world, in community centers and schools. We also want it to be used by the Jews of all persuasions – whether Reformed, Orthodox or secular. We believe that Yom Hashoah should be observed by all Jews everywhere. [24]
The Orthodox reject to Scroll … The question is whether this Megillat will indeed be accepted as the twenty-fifth book. Unsurprisingly, Orthodox Jews have rejected it immediately, as did some “liberal” Jews.
…but show no inclination for revisionism But it would be wrong to see in it a tendency to revisionism. Daniel Farhi expresses the thinking of almost all Jews when he says confidently:
Thanks to the work of historians and witnesses of the disaster, the historicity of the Holocaust is now indisputable. [25]
With or without the Scroll, the Remembrance is already ritualized Their rejection of Megillat Hashoah has another reason: they believe that the “Holocaust” is already celebrated sufficiently and thus not likely to be forgotten. Asked by “La Libre Belgique”, the Chief Rabbi of Brussels said:
To convey and transmit its memory, it is not necessary, in the Jewish tradition, to add a book. The 27th of Nisan is the ‘official’ date of the commemoration of the Holocaust. Then, at the discretion of the Hebrew calendar, many key moments in the liturgy are there to remind of the Holocaust. At each celebration, the feast of Passover pilgrimage, Shavuot and Sukkot, the ceremony of “Yiskor” is held in its memory. There, the Torah in hand, we recall the memory of the six million dead in the Nazi camps. Also on Yom Kippur, one of the most powerful moments of the liturgy is devoted to the evocation of the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Finally, the date of the 9th of Av commemorates the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. A day of fasting, prayers and lamentations of Jeremiah. Over time, this day became the paradigm of all the disasters that have befallen the Jewish people: the Inquisition, autodafes, crusades … and of course the Holocaust. We can rest assured that it will not be forgotten and is already an integral part of our liturgy.Besides, a French Jew, Pierre Haiat, wrote recently a haggadah on the Holocaust:
His wish was to ritualize the memory of the Holocaust even more through a story that is modeled on that of the Passover haggadah and is accompanied by a seder. During the seder, the symbolic foods are eaten, and it is done reading the story of the terrible hardships suffered by [the] “ancestors”, punctuated by the texts of the literature of the Holocaust, and songs in Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish, inspired by this martyrdom. [26]
In short: with or without Megillat Hashoah, the “Holocaust” is in final phase of ritualization ([url="http://www.phdnm.org/uploads/3/0/0/1/3001973/megillat_ritualisation.jpg"]
see photo[/url]: on 27th January the students at a school in London light six candles representing the “six millions” ).
The Holocaust has become a religion It is a fact that for Jews, any discussions about the reality of the Holocaust are completely irrelevant. In their minds, the revisionists are heretics, that is to say people who “
have no share in the Hereafter” [27]. Note also that in its final exhortation, Megillat Hashoah commands the believer: “
Do not try to understand. Learn to live without an answer “. [28] Nothing has changed since 1979 and the famous “do not ask how, technically, such a mass murder was possible. It was technically possible since it took place.” [29]. That is why the revisionist argument have never made a slightest impression on the followers of the “Holocaust”. Because they oppose their religion.
The original including references: Les juifs ajoutent un livre sur la Shoah à la Bible
