NIGHTWORDS

Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, recalls the darkest period in modern Jewish history, when the kingdom of night descended upon the body and soul of the Jewish people.

As a people, we have barely begun to assimilate the meaning of the losses we suffered, let alone recover from them.  On Yom Hashoah, we endeavor to recall an event so horrible as to be, quite literally, unimaginable. And we struggle to find a way to honor and sanctify the memory of those who lived and died in the darkest of times.

Throughout the ages the Jewish people have responded to the deeply felt need to remember our collective tragedies and triumphs by creating liturgies that enable  recollection and sanctification. The Passover Haggadah is such a liturgy. 

The human and theological challenge of memorializing the Holocaust is immense.  But the refining work of recollection and liturgical sanctification is underway and engages the souls of many of our most sensitive and creative liturgists.

This year, for Yom Hashoah, CLAL presents Nightwords: A Liturgy on the Holocaust, a profound new work of liturgical sanctification created and compiled by David G. Roskies.

We are making Nightwords: A Liturgy on the Holocaust available at no charge to rabbis and Jewish educators who wish to study and/or perform this liturgy in their congregations and education programs.  We especially hope that it will be performed and/or studied in the synagogue or community center on Yom Hashoah.

Special thanks to Aaron and Marjorie Ziegelman whose grant makes it possible for us to offer you access to this important work.

IN RETURN WE ASK ONLY ONE THING: IF YOU USE Nightwords, PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU DID WITH IT, HOW IT WORKED AND HOW YOU  WOULD DO IT DIFFERENTLY IN THE FUTURE.  WE WILL SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK WITH OTHER COMMUNAL PROFESSIONALS.

TO SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK, CLICK HERE:

Join the CLAL Nightwords E-mail Group to discuss Yom Hashoah, Nightwords, and the challenges of  educating about (and memorializing) the Holocaust in your community. To join the e-group, submit your email address in the box below.

We have created this website with the sole purpose of enabling you to peruse, download and use this liturgy.  In order to view and download it, you will need to have an Adobe Acrobat Reader.

If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader you can download it for free by clicking here