A Message From The Past

Two years ago I came across a Hebrew almanac that my great-grandfather Rabbi Naftali Herz Rubin – a Rabbi from Jerusalem who moved to New York in the 1930’s to inspire American Jews to love Judaism and support Israel – distributed to his congregants before Rosh Hashana 1945.

The Jewish community was just beginning to attempt to understand the astronomical losses of the Holocaust and how to move forward. In this little pamphlet he wrote a letter sharing his thoughts, his gratitude, his heartbreak and his words of inspiration. What’s profound to me is his vision of justice, but not revenge and his earnest desire that somehow this horrific moment in time could be a catalyst to a more loving, peaceful and G-d fearing world.

I’m proud to descend from a man who showed tremendous leadership in a very desperate time and grateful that I was able to dig this out of my grandparents basement 70 years after it was written. I’m sharing this today in honor of Yom Hashoah, the survivors, the martyrs, the descendants of those who suffered, those who lost their lives fighting for freedom, those who were killed because they looked, acted or thought differently and the ancient families that were cut off forever.

#WeRemember #NeverForget #Holocaust

Rachel Steinmetz loves Israel, the United States of America, advocacy, tweeting and challenging projects that ignite her passion. She can be found on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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