Remembering the Holocaust: Lessons for our time

A Note from the President for International Holocaust Day

By Heidi Doyle, President, North Tahoe Hebrew Congregation

The Holocaust began in 1933, with state-sponsored persecution that steadily intensified. What followed was a horrifying chain of events—pogroms, deportations, death camps, and the systematic murder of six million Jews and millions of others, targeted simply for who they were. Today, we remember not only the magnitude of this atrocity, but the individual souls behind the numbers. For many in our community, this history is deeply personal. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—lives disrupted or erased. It is our sacred duty never to forget, because memory is the first line of defense against repetition.

Our Torah speaks directly to moments like these. In Leviticus 19:16, we are commanded, “Do not stand idly by while your neighbor’s blood is shed.” This is not a passive teaching. It calls us to action when violence, injustice, and suffering unfold around us. The Torah further reminds us, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18)—a mandate to protect the vulnerable and to extend compassion beyond our own immediate circles. These teachings demand that we respond, especially when lives are being lost and the less fortunate are in peril.

As we reflect on events unfolding in our nation and around the world today, North Tahoe Hebrew Congregation stands as the spiritual home of the Tahoe-Truckee Jewish community—a place where Jewish values are lived, taught, and nurtured. Here, we gather not only to pray, but to support one another, to ask hard questions, and to recommit ourselves to justice, dignity, and human decency.

May remembrance move us to responsibility. I look forward to hearing your thoughts at one of the many opportunities we have to gather and be community. May our community continue to be a source of light, moral clarity, and hope—now and for generations to come.