Press release from Congregation B’Nai Israel
In light of recent events in troubled nations around the globe, it is important to educate ourselves and our children about the horrors of genocide and remember the victims. On Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 10:30 am, Congregation B’nai Israel will commemorate Yom HaShoah. or Holocaust Remembrance Day, with dramatized readings from Simon Wiesenthal’s book The Sunflower.
This thought-provoking program, which will challenge the audience to define their beliefs about justice, compassion and human responsibility, is being presented by members of the Rabbi Jack M. Rosoff Hebrew High School. The event is free and people of all faiths and backgrounds are invited to attend.
Simon Wiesenthal, a survivor of the Nazi death camps, dedicated his life to documenting the crimes of the Holocaust and to hunting down the perpetrators. In The Sunflower, Wiesenthal recalls the day that he was taken from his Nazi concentration camp work detail to the bedside of a dying member of the SS. Haunted by the crimes in which he had participated, the soldier wanted to confess to — and obtain absolution from — a Jew. Wiesenthal reacted, but years after the war wondered if he had made the right choice. And he offers us the opportunity to ponder what we would have done in his place.
A short service commemorating the day will be conducted by Rabbi Jeff Sultar and Cantor Dov Goldberg.
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In addition to the April 19 event — and in honor of National Poetry Month — CBI will also be hosting Cafe Pinsky 2015: The Poet Next Door, an evening of readings by local Jewish poets. Named for Long Branch native, Robert Pinsky, who served as the U.S. Poet Laureate from 1997-2000, the free event will take place on Monday, April 27, 2015 at 7 pm. In addition to poetry, the evening will feature music, light refreshments, coffee and tea. All are welcome to attend.
Published and unpublished local Jewish poets are invited to enter up to two poems each to the Library Committee by Monday, April 7, 2015. There is no entry fee. If the committee selects a poem for inclusion in the program, the poet will be invited to read his or her poem that evening. Enter your poems at [email protected] or Library, CBI, 171 Ridge Road, Rumson, NJ 07760. For additional information about these or other events at the synagogue, please contact CBI Director, Emilie Kovit-Meyer at (732)842-1800 x203 or [email protected].
