I asked him if he would put on Tefillin with me. He readily agreed "It would be a fragenigen, a pleasure to pray with you."

He took off his jacket sleeve and there it was. Clearly marked.

77970.

That was his number tattooed from the Nazi Concentration camp. I felt a bit uncomfortable wrapping such holy straps on such a horrible mark, but quickly recovered. The is the BEST response to the horrible tattoo left by those monsters who tried to dehumanize us and annihilate us - to show that Am Yisrael Chai!

Our people made it out of the ashes of the Holocaust and 70 years later are putting on Tefillin on the very number that was supposed to destroy them!

After wearing the Tefillin and praying so beautifully with the Torah tune, I asked Mr. Aron Straser if he would put on Tefillin on his own at home if he had one, he said he would do it for me.

And there I had another moving moment when Aron accepted my gift of a pair of Tefillin, which he said he would try to put on every day. What an honor.

We were at the Santa Fe Jewish Center and were on the way to the Holocaust memorial at Ft. Marcy Park, as part of the Zozobra Decades project marking the 1940's that was a very moving event.

As we arrived at the park, where some 300 people gathered to participate, we were introduced to Ilsee Diamond, who survived the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp (wyes, she too had her tattoo on her arm). Ilsee has recently moved to Santa Fe and honored us with lighting the memorial candle.

And we met Mr. Andy Holten, a survivor who was saved as a child hiding with a non-Jewish family, Righteous Gentiles, around the block from Ann Frank.

We heard some stirring music from Liv Orovich, and memorial prayer and songs so beautifully chanted by Mr. Straser. 

Mayor Javier Gonzales spoke about the horrors of the terrorist attacks around the world and in Israel, how antisemitism is a growing threat. And how we must stand up for what's right and not allow tyrants to terrorize others.

Lance Bell who helped organized the event, introduced Mr. Holten who shared how his parents made the difficult decision to give him to a family at age five. He never saw them again, but found out that they were deported and killed in Auschwitz. 

At the end of the event, I asked Andy if he would put on Tefillin and he agreed, and did it right there on the stage! I was again moved to hear that this was his first time ever wrapping Tefillin. He was adapted by this family who raised him, and he had no Jewish education or practices, only recently did he start getting involved and learning more about what it means to be Jewish. 

All in all it was a very meaningful event that we will remember and carry with us. As we get further away from the Holocaust we cherish those living treasures who are with us and can share first-hand experiences.

There is book written about Mr. Straser My Name Is Aron well worth a read.

We ended the gathering with an uplifting music video about the Jewish miracle of survival "We Are a Miracle"  

Indeed we must always remember we are a miracle! And what is OUR response to the Holocaust? Build and expand Jewish life! So we are excited to announce that we have received our building permits for the Santa Fe Jewish Center the Seligman Building. Construction begins on Tuesday!

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Berel and Devorah Levertov