Your excellent, if saddening, articles in honor of Yom HaShoah led us to wonder: What if, alongside existing ways of observing the day, we consecrated the 27th of Nisan as a day of “chesed” (loving-kindness) toward Holocaust survivors?
For those of us with family members who are survivors, this could start with something as simple as a phone call and some encouraging words. For students in Jewish schools, visits to nursing homes and hospitals could be arranged. For the entire community, federations and synagogues could organize food drives and other appropriate volunteer opportunities to benefit needy survivors.
From now on, let Yom HaShoah be a day on which each of the survivors feels warmly embraced by the Jewish community. And let a reinvigorated Yom HaShoah inspire us to improve the lives of survivors throughout the year.
Highland Park, N.J.
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