Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

April 4, 2022

How the Holocaust Caused a Secular Crisis of Faith

The question of fitting the Shoah into the Jewish calendar reveals a deeper debate over its meaning.

In addition to Passover, the month of April—and the Hebrew month of Nissan—contains Yom HaShoah, the day established by the state of Israel to commemorate the Holocaust. Shalom Carmy reflects on the debate, now largely forgotten, over whether the Shoah should receive its own day on the Jewish calendar, or its memory included on other days designated for the recollection of national woes. This debate, in turn, points to the different ways religious and secular Jews have responded to the 20th century’s great catastrophe:

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