Dear Community,
BringThemHome – Day 580
יִפֹּל מִצִּדְּךָ אֶלֶף וּרְבָבָה מִימִינֶךָ
“A Thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, [but it shall not reach you]” – Psalm 91
Numerical Value = 580
Today (Thursday) is the 80th Anniversary of VE Day. As the Imperial War Museum notes, “VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) – was one that remained in the memory of all those who witnessed it. It meant an end to nearly six years of a war that had cost the lives of millions; had destroyed homes, families, and cities; and had brought huge suffering and privations to the populations of entire countries.”
For many Jewish soldiers, the war had always been deeply personal. The Nazi regime explicitly targeted Jews for extermination, and VE Day marked the defeat of that genocidal ideology. For those who had lost family members or entire communities, there was an immense, bittersweet sense of vindication – joy at victory, tempered by the pain of irreparable loss.
The end of the war in Europe opened the door for the full revelation of the Holocaust. Jewish soldiers were among the first to witness and liberate concentration camps like Bergen-Belsen, whose 80th anniversary of liberation was just two weeks ago. This direct exposure profoundly affected them. VE Day was not just a military triumph but also a moment when the world could no longer deny the magnitude of Nazi atrocities.
It is fitting that the Torah portions of “Acharei Mot” and “Kedoshim” are being read this Shabbat, even though the connection is to the secular date of 8th May.
The literal translation of these portions is “After the Death…” and “The Holy Ones”. In a homiletical sense, we note that it is often only “after the death” of someone that we learn more of their “holy” qualities that we either did not notice during their lives, or only find out about through posthumous anecdotes because they acted in humility or even secrecy.
In its opening verses, the second of our Parshiyot – Kedoshim – spells out the reason for us to aspire to holiness.
דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־כׇּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י ה׳ אֱלֹ-הֵיכֶֽם׃
Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, your God, am holy. (Lev. 19:2)
Rabbi David Zvi Hoffman (1843-1921), ultimately becoming head of the Berlin Yeshiva until his death, explains that “…because I am Holy [says God], you have to strive to emulate Me through my Torah.”
He quotes Talmudic sage Abba Shaul, who explains in the Sifra (a commentary on Leviticus) that: “You shall be holy means you should be like the king’s entourage. And what does that entail? To emulate [literally: impersonate] the king himself. That is to say: to be one who accompanies The King.”
In other words, “to humbly walk with God” (as in Micah 6:8).
So the essence of living a holy life is to be humble, emulate God and be consistent throughout life so that, when our lives are concluded, they will be a blessing for the future, and a retrospective acknowledgement of just how unique and special they were in their own lifetime.
In loving memory of our six million brothers and sisters murdered in the Holocaust, and remembering – on this VE Day – the more than 20 million military and 55 million civilians who died in World War II.
Shabbat shalom uMevorach,
Rabbi Daniel & Ilana