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  "title": "Yom HaShoah",
  "summary": "Holocaust Remembrance Day — the 27th of Nisan, established by the Knesset in 1953.",
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      "title": "Yom HaShoah",
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    "article": {
      "slug": "holidays-modern-observances-yom-hashoah",
      "title": "Yom HaShoah",
      "deck": "Holocaust Remembrance Day — the 27th of Nisan, established by the Knesset in 1953.",
      "summary": "Summary. Yom HaZikaron LaShoah V'LaGevurah — \"Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day\" — was established by the Israeli Knesset in 1953 and falls on the 27th of Nisan, a week after the end of Pesach. The date was chosen to coincide approximately with the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of April 1943. In Israel, sirens sound at 10:00 AM for two minutes, during which the entire country comes to a standstill — traffic stops, pedestrians stand silently, businesses pause. In the diaspora, Yom HaShoah is marked with synagogue services, candle lighting (six candles for the six million murdered), reading of names, and educational programs.",
      "level": "essential",
      "sectionSlug": "holidays",
      "tags": [
        "yom hashoah",
        "holocaust",
        "remembrance"
      ],
      "publishedAt": "2026-07-06T02:19:03.001Z",
      "wordCount": 735,
      "readMinutes": 3
    },
    "section": {
      "slug": "sacred-time",
      "title": "Sacred Time"
    },
    "image": null,
    "blocks": [
      {
        "type": "summary",
        "body": "Summary. [Yom HaZikaron](/glossary.json#letter-Y) LaShoah V'LaGevurah — \"Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day\" — was established by the Israeli Knesset in 1953 and falls on the 27th of [Nisan](/glossary.json#letter-N), a week after the end of [Pesach](/glossary.json#letter-P). The date was chosen to coincide approximately with the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of April 1943. In Israel, sirens sound at 10:00 AM for two minutes, during which the entire country comes to a standstill — traffic stops, pedestrians stand silently, businesses pause. In the diaspora, [Yom HaShoah](/glossary.json#letter-Y) is marked with synagogue services, candle lighting (six candles for the six million murdered), reading of names, and educational programs.",
        "text": "Summary. Yom HaZikaron LaShoah V'LaGevurah — \"Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day\" — was established by the Israeli Knesset in 1953 and falls on the 27th of Nisan, a week after the end of Pesach. The date was chosen to coincide approximately with the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of April 1943. In Israel, sirens sound at 10:00 AM for two minutes, during which the entire country comes to a standstill — traffic stops, pedestrians stand silently, businesses pause. In the diaspora, Yom HaShoah is marked with synagogue services, candle lighting (six candles for the six million murdered), reading of names, and educational programs."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Why This Date",
        "text": "Why This Date"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "The choice of 27 Nisan was contested. Some Israeli Knesset members proposed the 14th of Nisan (the date the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began) — but that conflicted with Pesach. In 1948 the Israeli rabbinate had already proposed the 10th of [Tevet](/glossary.json#letter-T) as a general day of communal Kaddish and Holocaust commemoration — deliberately not Tisha B'Av, since that fast day was already strongly observed and didn't need reinforcement. When the Knesset later negotiated the date, Orthodox members instead pushed to defer it into the month of Iyar, away from Nisan's restrictions on public mourning. The 27th of Nisan was selected as a compromise: a week after Pesach (the festival of freedom), in proximity to the Warsaw Uprising's general timeframe. The traditional [Orthodox](/glossary.json#letter-O) response has been variable — some [Haredi](/glossary.json#letter-H) communities prefer to mourn the Holocaust on the 10th of [Tevet](/glossary.json#letter-T) or Tisha B'Av, regarding the choice of an additional date as a modern innovation; most [Modern Orthodox](/glossary.json#letter-M) communities observe Yom HaShoah alongside the traditional fast days.",
        "text": "The choice of 27 Nisan was contested. Some Israeli Knesset members proposed the 14th of Nisan (the date the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began) — but that conflicted with Pesach. In 1948 the Israeli rabbinate had already proposed the 10th of Tevet as a general day of communal Kaddish and Holocaust commemoration — deliberately not Tisha B'Av, since that fast day was already strongly observed and didn't need reinforcement. When the Knesset later negotiated the date, Orthodox members instead pushed to defer it into the month of Iyar, away from Nisan's restrictions on public mourning. The 27th of Nisan was selected as a compromise: a week after Pesach (the festival of freedom), in proximity to the Warsaw Uprising's general timeframe. The traditional Orthodox response has been variable — some Haredi communities prefer to mourn the Holocaust on the 10th of Tevet or Tisha B'Av, regarding the choice of an additional date as a modern innovation; most Modern Orthodox communities observe Yom HaShoah alongside the traditional fast days."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "In Israel",
        "text": "In Israel"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "The day begins the evening before with a state ceremony at Yad Vashem (the Holocaust memorial museum and research institute in Jerusalem). The President speaks; six survivors light six torches representing the six million. The next morning, the country observes the two-minute siren at 10:00 AM. Public entertainment is closed; television and radio play Holocaust-themed programming throughout the day. Schools, businesses, and government institutions hold ceremonies. The day is one of the most observed in the Israeli secular calendar.",
        "text": "The day begins the evening before with a state ceremony at Yad Vashem (the Holocaust memorial museum and research institute in Jerusalem). The President speaks; six survivors light six torches representing the six million. The next morning, the country observes the two-minute siren at 10:00 AM. Public entertainment is closed; television and radio play Holocaust-themed programming throughout the day. Schools, businesses, and government institutions hold ceremonies. The day is one of the most observed in the Israeli secular calendar."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "In the Diaspora",
        "text": "In the Diaspora"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Communities organize Yom HaShoah services and educational programs. The reading of names — sometimes for hours, often with each name accompanied by a candle — is a common practice. Survivor speakers (where survivors are still living) anchor many programs. The lighting of six candles for the six million is the most visually distinctive ritual. Many congregations include specific prayers and readings from [Ani Ma'amin](/glossary.json#letter-A) (the Maimonidean Twelfth Principle of Faith, sung famously by Jews on the way to the gas chambers — \"I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the [Messiah](/glossary.json#letter-M)\"), [El Maleh Rachamim](/glossary.json#letter-E), and the [Kaddish](/glossary.json#letter-K).",
        "text": "Communities organize Yom HaShoah services and educational programs. The reading of names — sometimes for hours, often with each name accompanied by a candle — is a common practice. Survivor speakers (where survivors are still living) anchor many programs. The lighting of six candles for the six million is the most visually distinctive ritual. Many congregations include specific prayers and readings from Ani Ma'amin (the Maimonidean Twelfth Principle of Faith, sung famously by Jews on the way to the gas chambers — \"I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah\"), El Maleh Rachamim, and the Kaddish."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "The Theological Conversation",
        "text": "The Theological Conversation"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "The Holocaust has been the central theological challenge of post-1945 Jewish thought. [Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg](/glossary.json#letter-R)'s principle that \"no statement, theological or otherwise, should be made that would not be credible in the presence of the burning children\" has shaped contemporary Jewish theology. [Elie Wiesel's](/glossary.json#letter-E) response to the question of belief — \"I have not lost faith in God. I have moments of anger and protest. Sometimes I've been closer to him for that reason\" — is widely quoted. [Hasidic](/glossary.json#letter-H) responses have varied: some resist theodicizing the Holocaust altogether, treating the proper response as moral rather than metaphysical, while others have offered explicit theodicies — most notably the Satmar Rebbe, Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, whose Va'Yoel Moshe framed the Holocaust as divine punishment for secular Zionism. The conversation continues.",
        "text": "The Holocaust has been the central theological challenge of post-1945 Jewish thought. Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg's principle that \"no statement, theological or otherwise, should be made that would not be credible in the presence of the burning children\" has shaped contemporary Jewish theology. Elie Wiesel's response to the question of belief — \"I have not lost faith in God. I have moments of anger and protest. Sometimes I've been closer to him for that reason\" — is widely quoted. Hasidic responses have varied: some resist theodicizing the Holocaust altogether, treating the proper response as moral rather than metaphysical, while others have offered explicit theodicies — most notably the Satmar Rebbe, Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, whose Va'Yoel Moshe framed the Holocaust as divine punishment for secular Zionism. The conversation continues."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Where Denominations Diverge",
        "text": "Where Denominations Diverge"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Universal observance across denominations, with variation in form. [Reform](/glossary.json#letter-R) congregations often hold the most extensive Yom HaShoah services. Conservative observance is substantial. Modern Orthodox observance is widespread; Haredi communities are more variable, with some preferring traditional fast days for Holocaust mourning. The State of Israel's observance is essentially civic and crosses all denominations.",
        "text": "Universal observance across denominations, with variation in form. Reform congregations often hold the most extensive Yom HaShoah services. Conservative observance is substantial. Modern Orthodox observance is widespread; Haredi communities are more variable, with some preferring traditional fast days for Holocaust mourning. The State of Israel's observance is essentially civic and crosses all denominations."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Sources",
        "text": "Sources"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Israeli Knesset Law on Yom HaShoah (1953, amended 1959).",
        "text": "Israeli Knesset Law on Yom HaShoah (1953, amended 1959)."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Elie Wiesel, Night (1958).",
        "text": "Elie Wiesel, Night (1958)."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Yitz Greenberg, 'Cloud of Smoke, Pillar of Fire' (1977).",
        "text": "Yitz Greenberg, 'Cloud of Smoke, Pillar of Fire' (1977)."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Yad Vashem (yadvashem.org) — the Israeli Holocaust authority.",
        "text": "Yad Vashem (yadvashem.org) — the Israeli Holocaust authority."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day](https://www.yadvashem.org/remembrance/remembrance-day) — Yad Vashem.",
        "text": "Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day — Yad Vashem."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Marking Yom HaShoah: Calendars And Memory, God And History](https://www.jta.org/2011/04/27/ny/marking-yom-hashoah-calendars-and-memory-god-and-history) — JTA.",
        "text": "Marking Yom HaShoah: Calendars And Memory, God And History — JTA."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[The First Yom HaShoah](https://www.jta.org/2012/04/19/default/the-first-yom-hashoah) — JTA.",
        "text": "The First Yom HaShoah — JTA."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Fackenheim and the Shoah in Contemporary Jewish Thought](https://traditiononline.org/fackenheim-and-the-shoah-in-contemporary-jewish-thought/) — Tradition.",
        "text": "Fackenheim and the Shoah in Contemporary Jewish Thought — Tradition."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Further Reading",
        "text": "Further Reading"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Elie Wiesel, Night.",
        "text": "Elie Wiesel, Night."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Yitz Greenberg, The Triumph of Life.",
        "text": "Yitz Greenberg, The Triumph of Life."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Lucy Dawidowicz, The War Against the Jews 1933–1945.",
        "text": "Lucy Dawidowicz, The War Against the Jews 1933–1945."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Saul Friedländer, Nazi Germany and the Jews (2 vols).",
        "text": "Saul Friedländer, Nazi Germany and the Jews (2 vols)."
      }
    ],
    "related": [
      {
        "slug": "holidays-yamim-noraim-rosh-hashanah",
        "title": "Rosh Hashanah",
        "href": "/articles/holidays-yamim-noraim-rosh-hashanah.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "holidays-yamim-noraim-yom-kippur",
        "title": "Yom Kippur",
        "href": "/articles/holidays-yamim-noraim-yom-kippur.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "holidays-shalosh-regalim-sukkot",
        "title": "Sukkot",
        "href": "/articles/holidays-shalosh-regalim-sukkot.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "holidays-yom-tov-shemini-atzeret-and-simchat-torah",
        "title": "Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah",
        "href": "/articles/holidays-yom-tov-shemini-atzeret-and-simchat-torah.json"
      }
    ],
    "goDeeper": [
      {
        "slug": "calendar-daf-yomi-a-page-a-day",
        "title": "Daf Yomi: A Page a Day",
        "level": "deeper",
        "href": "/articles/calendar-daf-yomi-a-page-a-day.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "holidays-fasts-the-four-minor-fasts",
        "title": "The Four Minor Fasts",
        "level": "deeper",
        "href": "/articles/holidays-fasts-the-four-minor-fasts.json"
      }
    ],
    "glossary": {
      "ani-maamin": {
        "term": "Ani Ma'amin",
        "hebrew": "אֲנִי מַאֲמִין",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "'I believe' — a short credo drawn from Maimonides' Thirteen Principles of Faith. The line affirming the Messiah's coming, set to music, became an anthem of faith during and after the Holocaust.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "el-maleh-rachamim": {
        "term": "El Maleh Rachamim",
        "hebrew": "אֵל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "'God, full of compassion' — the memorial prayer chanted at funerals, yahrzeits, and remembrance services, asking rest for the soul of the departed.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "elie-wiesel": {
        "term": "Elie Wiesel",
        "hebrew": "אלי ויזל",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1928-2016) whose memoir Night became one of the defining testimonies of the Shoah, and whose complicated, protesting faith continues to shape Jewish Holocaust theology.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-modern-observances-yom-hashoah"
      },
      "haredi": {
        "term": "Haredi",
        "hebrew": "חֲרֵדִי",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Literally 'trembling' (before God) — describing the strictly Orthodox communities, including the Hasidic and Lithuanian-yeshiva worlds, marked by intensive Torah study and deliberate distance from secular culture.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "hasidism": {
        "term": "Hasidism",
        "hebrew": "חֲסִידוּת",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The mystical revival movement founded by the Baal Shem Tov in 18th-century Eastern Europe, teaching that God can be served with joy in every act and every person. Its communities, each led by a Rebbe, remain a major force in Jewish life.",
        "moreSlug": "going-deeper-deeper-questions-hasidism-vs-mitnagdism"
      },
      "kaddish": {
        "term": "Kaddish",
        "hebrew": "קַדִּישׁ",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Aramaic prayer sanctifying God's name that punctuates every Jewish service; it exists in several forms — including the Mourner's Kaddish — and requires a minyan of ten.",
        "moreSlug": "going-deeper-deeper-prayers-kaddish"
      },
      "mashiach": {
        "term": "Mashiach",
        "hebrew": "מָשִׁיחַ",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Messiah — literally \"the anointed one\" — a future human king from the line of David who, in Jewish belief, will gather the exiles, rebuild the Temple, and usher in an era of universal peace.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "modern-orthodox": {
        "term": "Modern Orthodox",
        "hebrew": null,
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Modern Orthodoxy is the stream of Orthodox Judaism that combines full Halachic observance with active engagement in general society, secular education, and often Zionism — distinct from Haredi communities that maintain greater separation from the surrounding culture.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-judaica-kippah"
      },
      "nisan": {
        "term": "Nisan",
        "hebrew": "נִיסָן",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The spring month in which Pesach falls; the Torah counts it as the first month of the year.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "orthodox-judaism": {
        "term": "Orthodox Judaism",
        "hebrew": null,
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Orthodox Judaism holds Halacha as fully binding and the Shulchan Aruch as its canonical code; it spans Haredi and Hasidic communities as well as Modern Orthodoxy, and is the starting point from which this Field Guide is written, even as it engages seriously with other denominations.",
        "moreSlug": "how-to-use-this-field-guide"
      },
      "pesach": {
        "term": "Pesach",
        "hebrew": "פֶּסַח",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Passover — the spring festival commemorating the Exodus from Egypt, observed with the seder meal, matzah, and the removal of chametz from the home.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-shalosh-regalim-pesach"
      },
      "yitz-greenberg": {
        "term": "Rabbi Yitz Greenberg",
        "hebrew": null,
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Rabbi Irving 'Yitz' Greenberg (b. 1933), a Modern Orthodox rabbi and Holocaust theologian known for the principle that no Jewish theological statement should be made that would not be credible in the presence of burning children; author of The Jewish Way.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-modern-observances-yom-hashoah"
      },
      "reform-judaism": {
        "term": "Reform Judaism",
        "hebrew": null,
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Reform Judaism treats Halacha as a source of values and meaning rather than binding law, emphasizing individual autonomy, ethical monotheism, and tikkun olam; it was the first movement to fully recognize patrilineal descent and ordain women as rabbis.",
        "moreSlug": "how-to-use-this-field-guide"
      },
      "tevet": {
        "term": "Tevet",
        "hebrew": "טבת",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The tenth month of the Jewish calendar, in midwinter; Hanukkah ends in early Tevet, and the fast of the 10th of Tevet recalls the siege of Jerusalem.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "yom-hashoah": {
        "term": "Yom HaShoah",
        "hebrew": "יום השואה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Holocaust Remembrance Day (27 Nisan) — formally Yom HaZikaron LaShoah V'LaGevurah, 'Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day' — marked by sirens and silence in Israel and memorial gatherings worldwide.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-modern-observances-yom-hashoah"
      },
      "yom-hazikaron": {
        "term": "Yom HaZikaron",
        "hebrew": "יום הזיכרון",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Israel's Memorial Day (4 Iyar) for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, observed the day before Yom HaAtzmaut — grief deliberately giving way to celebration.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-modern-observances-yom-hazikaron-and-yom-haatzmaut"
      }
    }
  },
  "links": [
    {
      "rel": "parent",
      "title": "Sacred Time",
      "href": "/sections/sacred-time.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Rosh Hashanah",
      "href": "/articles/holidays-yamim-noraim-rosh-hashanah.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Yom Kippur",
      "href": "/articles/holidays-yamim-noraim-yom-kippur.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Sukkot",
      "href": "/articles/holidays-shalosh-regalim-sukkot.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah",
      "href": "/articles/holidays-yom-tov-shemini-atzeret-and-simchat-torah.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Daf Yomi: A Page a Day",
      "href": "/articles/calendar-daf-yomi-a-page-a-day.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "The Four Minor Fasts",
      "href": "/articles/holidays-fasts-the-four-minor-fasts.json"
    }
  ]
}