The 614th Mitzvah

The Holocaust is a terrifying subject. When looking over seventy years in the past, it becomes hard to imagine the pain and suffering so many Jewish people went through. Only so many people survived the horrific times of World War II, and now they are much older and beginning to pass away. There is a common fear among all of Am Yisrael that the significance of the Holocaust can be lost once we lose all of our ancestors. Rabbi Emil Fackenheim responds to the worries of the Jewish people by saying, "Jews are forbidden to hand Hitler posthumous victories, they are commanded to survive as Jews, lest the Jewish People perish." As a people, we cannot forget after the death of our loved ones, or else Hitler wins. It is frightening to think of a world where the Nazis had won. So how does Am Yisrael follow this 614th mitzvah? It's quite simple, actually -- we must pass on the stories of the Holocaust down from generation to generation. Rabbi Fackenheim's 614th mitzvah is an incredibly important concept to keep in mind especially in this period of time when the significance of the Holocaust is fading away.

When researching the Holocaust, there is no way to avoid hearing about the Righteous Among the Nations. These people not only risked their lives, but the lives of their family as well to help the Jews survive. It is impossible to comprehend, let alone feel, the amount of courage it took for the men and women who helped keep Am Yisrael alive to actually take action against such an intimidating force like the Nazis. It can be argued that the Righteous Among the Nations are the ones who are the reason why there is still a Jewish people (or at least why it is as large and strong as it is now). For this reason, we can never forget what they have done for us. The Righteous Among the Nations are not even Jewish, but they hold a bigger part of our history than most people do. Fortunately, we have ways to remember the amazing acts of these righteous people through things such as the movie "Schindler's List." Through this we always have a way to recognize what it is that has kept so many of the Jewish people alive. No one asked people like Schindler to "step out of his comfort zone" and take a huge risk like saving over one thousand enemies of the state. But it is the fact that he attempted the impossible and succeeded that makes him and so many others so important when remembering the Holocaust. These are the people who will help us follow the 614th mitzvah.

Even though we must thank the Righteous Among the Nations for all they did, we can never forget the Jews who lived before this horrible time. Poland has lost almost its entire Jewish population because of the Holocaust. Yes, Jews were slaughtered and it was horrible, but we cannot just brush over the fact that before these terrible times there were amazing ones. Poland had become a major center of Jewish culture. This is emphasized by examples like the Jews of Tykochin. Before World War II, there was a small thriving town known as Tykochin. Their passion and spirit for Judaism was rich. Now, there are no more Jews in Tykochin. If we forget people like the Jews of Tykochin then we forget what our Judaism is based on today.

The times during the Holocaust were incredibly scary, yet there are also examples of strength in the Jewish people. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is something that we must never forget. At a time where the Jews knew that they were going to die, they still fought. This cannot be forgotten because it shows a brighter side of the Holocaust that we must hold onto and pass down along with the negatives. If we focus only on the negative perspective then the Holocaust will lose its significance. The significance of the Holocaust is not that millions died, its that it was a failure because amongst all the death and turmoil the Jews joined together as one people -- that is what we must not forget.

Rabbi Fackenheim's 614th mitzvah is especially important to this specific generation. This generation is the very last one that will ever be able to actually speak to a Holocaust survivor. For that reason the significance of the Holocaust and the 614th mitzvah is not only enhanced, but it is this generation's duty to pass on the stories along side the importance of the Holocaust as a whole. The 614th mitzvah is necessary in order for future generations to not forget all of the atrocities or pleasantries that come with the Holocaust.