Yom HaShoah – A Floor, But No Ceiling

From Remembering to Leading: Empowering Our Students on Yom HaShoah

This year’s Yom HaShoah marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau—a somber reminder of the horrors of the past and a powerful call to action for the future. As I’ve reflected in previous writings, the phrase “Never Forget” carries a responsibility not only to preserve memory but to translate it into meaningful action and leadership. At OJCS, our students exemplify this commitment, particularly through our restructured Grade 7 Holocaust curriculum.

Why We Remember

Yom HaShoah serves as a profound moment for reflection, mourning, and education. “Never Forget” isn’t merely about recalling historical facts; it’s about actively engaging with the ethical and moral imperatives that emerge from history’s darkest chapters. When we say “Never Forget,” we commit ourselves—and our students—to creating a world rooted in empathy, justice, and compassion. As I’ve previously shared in “Remember” With Your Mouth; “Don’t Forget” In Your Heart, this underscores our belief that remembrance must live both outwardly and inwardly, through our actions and our attitudes.

Grade 7: Stewards of Remembrance

This year, we’ve introduced a revitalized Holocaust studies curriculum in Grade 7, positioning this grade as the focal point for Holocaust education and community leadership at OJCS. Students delve deeply into survivor testimonies, historical narratives, literature, and ethical discussions, developing not only knowledge but emotional intelligence, empathy, and a profound sense of responsibility.

The culmination of this curriculum is our school’s Yom HaShoah commemoration, fully planned and led by our Grade 7 students. They organized and facilitated a thoughtful Grades 5–8 Assembly designed to foster meaningful reflection and community engagement. Additionally, Grade 7 students showcased their learning through a Holocaust book presentation, sharing powerful and insightful projects with their peers, faculty, and families in a science-fair-style exhibition.

Connecting Memory to Action (and Zionism)

Our commitment to remembrance, of course, extends beyond Grade 7. The comprehensive Holocaust curriculum serves as a critical foundation for Grade 8’s exploration of Zionism and modern Jewish identity. By understanding the profound impact of the Shoah, students gain essential context for why a Jewish homeland—and the continued strength and vitality of Israel—remains vital to the Jewish people worldwide. This thoughtful progression prepares our graduates not only for high school but also for meaningful engagement with complex contemporary issues affecting Jewish communities today.

Our sequential approach – reimagined to meet the needs of a post-October 7th world – beginning with deep Holocaust education in Grade 7 and moving into an exploration of Zionism in Grade 8, is designed to equip our students with critical tools and context. This intentional curricular progression addresses a real and pressing need, as many of our alumni share experiences of encountering antisemitism and anti-Zionism in high school and university settings. By embedding rigorous historical knowledge, critical thinking, and moral clarity early, we ensure our graduates are ready not only to respond thoughtfully but to proactively advocate for themselves and their communities.

Additionally, as the community Jewish day school located in Canada’s national capital, OJCS offers a uniquely rich environment for nurturing student leadership. Our emphasis on public speaking, civic engagement, and meaningful interactions with leaders and institutions of national importance provides students unparalleled access and opportunities. Particularly in an election year, our students witness firsthand how critical active citizenship is, empowering them to become articulate and confident participants in Canada’s broader civic life.

Commitment to the Future

As we mark this significant anniversary, our commitment remains clear and strong. At OJCS, remembering the Holocaust isn’t confined to a single day or event—it permeates our educational approach, shaping young leaders who are ready to carry forward the lessons of history into meaningful action.

May our Grade 7 students’ leadership on Yom HaShoah continue to inspire us all toward deeper empathy, greater justice, and a relentless pursuit of a brighter future.

“We are reliving our past”: Holocaust education in the shadow of 10/7

[NOTE: This blog post is written by current OJCS Parent and member of our Board of Trustees, Howie Fremeth.]

All other nations that tried to kill us have perished. Yet we have survived. Look at you.

As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, these words from Marie Doduck to OJCS Grades 5-8 students hit me right in the kishkes.

Learning about the Holocaust has always been important to me for as long as I can remember. My bubbie towards the end of her life chose me to share details that she didn’t tell anyone else – even her own children – and help her document her story so that it can be passed down to future generations. Now as a parent, I am only beginning to struggle with what I tell my kids about our family history. So when I had the opportunity to attend this week’s Yom Hashoah Assembly, I knew I had to be there to both observe and show my daughter how much it means to me.

Born in 1935, Marie Doduck was just five years old when the Nazis conquered her hometown of Brussels and was forced into hiding until the end of the war. Her survival, in her own words, was thanks to a mixture of good luck and the goodwill of many non-Jews who took her in. In 1947, she came to Canada as part of the Jewish Canadian Congress’ Orphan War Project that helped foster Jewish children who had lost their parents in the Holocaust.

For more than an hour, the students had an opportunity to hear Marie’s story. She was particularly keen to spend most of the time answering questions. I was amazed by how much more the students knew about the history of the Second World War and the Holocaust than I thought they would. They wanted to know everything from details about her daily life routine to her views on the Nazis.

But it was one student’s question that folded the past into the present: What do you think about the massacre of Israelis on October 7th and the current rise of antisemitism in Canada?

Marie didn’t hesitate in her response. She said she thinks she’s reliving what happened to her some 80 years ago. She recalled that the violence began with words, so we must call out hate speech before it turns violent. But she did say there was one crucial difference from then and now.

Today the Jewish people have a country to call our own. She told the students that if Israel existed before the Holocaust, that’s where European Jews would have gone for sanctuary. We now have a place to go if we must leave Canada – a thought that none of us would’ve even imagined a few months ago. But she also said we won’t leave or turn the other cheek like we did when she was a girl in Belgium. We will fight back both here in Canada and in Israel.

She reminded the students that Israel has one of the most powerful militaries in the world. Her message paralleled something I heard Israel’s Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed often say in media interviews: we will win this war because we have to win the war.

I walked out of the assembly thinking how precious it is that my daughter had the opportunity to hear directly from a survivor. While I’m grateful they were able to meet, my daughter was not even five when my bubbie passed away. Thankfully we have a self-published photo album recounting her family history and a translation of her diary – written in a mixture of Yiddish, Russian and Polish with a few of her own drawings throughout the pages – that offers a first-person account of her survival. Yet none of this can compete with hearing directly from a survivor who can also situate the past into the present.

At a time when protesters distort the Holocaust, chant the genocidal “River to the Sea” slogan and call on Jews to “go back to Europe,” Marie’s story empowers the great grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. It offers meaning for why we continue our traditions – despite the trauma, the costs, and threats we face as they are reminded every day when they see police parked outside their school.

I know there will be a time soon when we won’t have any more living survivors. Until that day comes, it is incumbent on all of us to hear their stories and ensure that young Canadians from all faiths and backgrounds share in this opportunity.

Before I conclude, I want to thank our incredible staff and faculty – especially Michael Washerstein – who organized this special experience for our children.

[Back to Jon:]

I look forward to sharing results from the Annual Parent Survey later this month. If you have NOT yet contributed and you want your results included, please fill yours out by Monday, May 15th. Please and thank you!

“Remember” With Your Mouth; “Don’t Forget” In Your Heart

This week we commemorated Yom HaShoah – the day set aside on the Jewish Calendar for remembering (and not forgetting) the horrible events of the Holocaust. And we are urged Zachor! – Remember! – because it is understood that through remembrance we help ensure the other commonly used expression for this holiday, that events like the Holocaust are Never Again! – not just for the Jewish People, but for humanity. We must Not Forget! what took place.

I’ve always struggled with the curious distinction Judaism makes between the command “to remember” and the command “to never forget”. In Deuteronomy 25:17, we are commanded to “Remember what Amalek” did to the Israelites. In Deuteronomy 25:19, we commanded to both wipe out Amalek’s descendents and to “not forget” Amalek’s atrocities. Isn’t “remembering” and “not forgetting” the same thing? Why does the Torah choose different words for expressing the same idea?

And then I came across this explanation from the Mishneh Torah

מִפִּי הַשְּׁמוּעָה לָמְדוּ זָכוֹר בַּפֶּה לֹא תִּשְׁכָּח בַּלֵּב
The Oral Tradition teaches, ‘Remember’ with your mouths; ‘Don’t Forget’ in your hearts. – Mishneh Torah, Kings & Wars 5:5

According to this text, the difference between “remembering” and “not forgetting” isn’t definitional, it is pedagogical. And bearing witness to how our current students and alumni commemorated Yom HaShoah this week, in our school, in our community, and in Poland, reinforces once again the unique responsibility and opportunity Jewish day school represents in the lives of our students and families.

Our Grade 8s study the Holocaust as part of their curriculum, but it is not an exclusively academic pursuit. As part of the program, they regularly engage with survivors and the children of survivors throughout the year. That is infinitely more powerful than any one-time ceremony, but knowing that did not diminish the power of watching them participate in our community’s Yom HaShoah Commemoration on Monday night by helping facilitate the candle-lighting ceremony. While there, I bumped into a parent with both alumni and current students. She shared with me that her daughter, along with two other alumni in her grade, are currently on the March of the Living. She also shared that those three, all of whom had leadership roles in their small Jewish day school while in Grade 8, are poised to have leadership roles in their large secular private school while in Grade 11. She attributed both those developments – March of the Living and student leadership – to, yes, the home as primary educator, but also to the school where those ideas and actions are nourished, encouraged, and experienced.

And as much as I hate to use my own children as any kind of example (I almost NEVER do), I must say that on Tuesday, while our OJCS Grade 8s led our school’s Yom HaShoah Assembly, and our entire Middle School bussed to Israeli Embassy for our nation’s Yom HaShoah Commemoration, and then bussed back for a special interview with a local survivor, my older daughter was leading the first-ever Yom HaShoah Assembly at the public high school she attends. That assembly’s existence is entirely due to my daughter’s having lobbied her school’s administration. Her ability to advocate with her principal and her ability to facilitate an assembly are both directly attributable to what she gained by attending Jewish day school(s).

Remembering with our hearts is something that happens inside of us. We learn, we experience, we reflect and we feel. Not forgetting with our mouths puts action into the world. We speak, we do, we lead and we make something happen. Both are required to perfect the world. The Talmud states, “Great is study for it leads to action” (Kiddushin 40b). But is the reverse not true as well? Is it not true that action leads to study? And isn’t both at the same time the most ideal? And isn’t that what Jewish Day School is about at its most aspirational? That our students study and then put their learning into action to make the world a better place? That our students have lots of opportunity to make the world a better place and are then inspired to learn more?

I know that one primary audience for this blog is (always) current parents in my current school, but there are others. And I know that Jewish Day School will never be the preferred destination for all. And I know that not all my current students began their journeys at the beginning, and not all will stay in Jewish day school through graduation. And I know that there are all kinds reasons why that is true. And I know that each time I come out swinging too hard, I run the risk of reading as preachy or judgy.

And yet.

I also know why I implore families to attend an OJCS Graduation long before their children reach Grade 8. It is the same reason why I encourage families to read blogs and blogfolios of children in older grades. It is the same reason why we invited alumni to speak to Grade 5 Families this year.

It is why I will forever share my heart and use my voice in the service of Jewish day school. Weeks like this one and the ones to follow are why we should both remember and not forget the gifts that Jewish day schools give their students – gifts that give back to families, to schools, and to community.

As we are currently in the throes of admissions, where we have every reason to believe that we will see our school grow for a sixth consecutive year; where we move forward with our journey towards CAIS accreditation (joining only Elmwood and Ashbury from the Ottawa independent school community), where we stand poised this summer to execute the first phase of a (now) $2 million renovation to help make our physical facility as innovative and excellent as our program – let me close by thanking all the parents who entrust us with their precious children; our teachers who pour their passion into their sacred and holy work; our volunteers who give of their most valued commodity, time; our community led by our most important partner and donor the Jewish Federation of Ottawa; and our donors who give of their treasure in addition to their time and wisdom. Special thanks to all those who have joined our Life & Legacy Circle, who have ensured their legacies through securing our school’s.

The roller coaster of this holiday season has its ups and downs; may the trajectory of our school, thanks to so many, continue l’eilah u’leilah – higher and higher.

When the Rhythm of the Jewish Calendar Reaches Crescendo

What a two weeks back from Passover Break!

Last Thursday was Yom Ha’Shoah – the day on the Jewish Calendar where we pause to remember the events of the Holocaust and the memories of all who perished therein. Yesterday we celebrated Yom Ha’Atzmaut – the day on the Jewish Calendar where we celebrate Israeli Independence Day. In between, on the roller coaster of spring holidays and immediately the day before, was Yom Ha’Zikaron – the day on the Jewish Calendar where we commemorate Israel’s Memorial Day.

It is always a remarkable juxtaposition of days – complete 180 degrees of emotion that take place with a click of the second hand and, in Israel, the siren’s call. Unlike in North America, where fewer families are personally touched by military service, in Israel no one is untouched by war’s destruction and all pause to personally mourn.

I feel so blessed to have had a chance to observe and celebrate these holidays as part of the OJCS and larger Ottawa Jewish Community. In addition to attending powerful communal gatherings for each of the holidays, our students and teachers helped lead incredible assemblies and programs here at school. This is when the power of living in rhythm with the Jewish Calendar is most obvious; this is when the power of a Jewish day school education is most clear.

We began with Yom Ha’Shoah, where our Grade 8 students, led by our Shinshinim Idan and Noa, Morah Ruthie and Rabbi Rotenberg, prepared a powerful assembly for our older students which incorporated presentation, liturgy, music and a candle-lighting. I was so impressed by how seriously our Grade 8 students took their responsibility and by how seriously our students took the assembly. It was an appropriate tribute to such a solemn day on our calendar.

It was Grade 7’s turn this week – with huge help from Morah Ruthie, Noa and Idan – to lead our school in an incredible Yom Ha’Zikaron assembly. Hereto, they incorporated presentation, liturgy, music, dance, and a candle-lighting. It was extra special to have had a chance to hear from our slightly ad-hoc “choir” who had a chance to perform both at the community’s commemoration as well as our own. We were also blessed to hear from a special guest, Col. Amos Nachmani, the Israeli Defence Attaché to Canada, who shared some remarkably personal words to help our students better understand and connect to this important holiday. This is one of the true blessings of being a Jewish day school in our nation’s capital.

As for our school’s epic celebration of Israel’s 70th anniversary? Are there enough words to capture the day? Is there enough praise for Morah Ruthie, Idan and Noa? I could try to capture in words our appreciation for all the time and love that went into the planning. I could try to describe the celebration of raising the Israeli flag back to full mast, the spectacle of the assembly, the energy of the “7 Stations for 70 Years” where our students rotated between experiences of Israel’s accomplishments across the arts, science, sport, etc., or the joy of the closing festival. But sometimes words are simply not enough. So with great thanks to our new IT maven and overall tech and media guru Josh Max, please enjoy a taste of yesterday’s magic.

Two quick reminders:

If you have not filled out your Annual Parent Survey (and 55 already have as of today!), please do so by April 30th if you want your feedback included in the report.

Please join us on Thursday, April 26th at 7:00 PM for our next “OJCS Town Hall” – this one about how are gong to strengthen the “J” in OJCS. You can RSVP to Jennifer Greenberg (j.greenberg@theojcs.ca).