I think there are 2 other reasons why the charedim haven't created their own Holocaust Memorial Day and why you didn't learn about in your school:
1 It raises theological issues of theodicy and just like charedim avoid learning Tanach to avoid dealing with difficult questions, they avoid any subject that might raise difficult theological questions such as the Holocaust because they teach that they do have all the answers (or at least the Gedolim do) and they can provide people with certainty that is so lacking in every other community in today's world
2 It raises uncomfortable questions about their leaders and what they told their followers to do, if the community actually studied the history of that period. The honest approach would be to admit that they didn't see what was coming and were too fixated on the risks of assimilation if their followers left Eastern Europe but that would undermine Daas Torah which is at the centre of their approach. So instead they don't talk about it, don't commemorate it and hope that no one asks any questions
If Hareidim want Tisha B’Av to be central to memory of the Shoah, and if you ask them most will agree that they do, then why are there a grand total of only two, TWO Kinnah in the Artscroll Kinnos for the Holocaust. Most are for the First Beit HaMikdash. The second largest number for the second then for the Middle Ages and at the very end they graciously added only two for the event that saw the most Jews ever killed and with survivors still around to give testimony.
The real reason is they cannot admit that they cannot grasp the severity of the event and the questions of doubt of faith it raises so best to quietly ignore it. That’s how Haredim deal with the Shoah….
The recurring question on this blog - why Charedim don't study or read about [X subject] - gets an ad hoc answer each time it comes up. (Other examples: why don't they study science? Why don't they read about Zionist yeshivas?)
A more parsimonious explanation: Charedim, like other fundamentalist religious communities, operate within an extremely narrow sanctioned curriculum and a tightly restricted reading list. The core consists of Gemara and halacha along with their associated literature. Charedi media, for its part, covers two main areas: politics and hagiographic accounts of last century's rabbinic figures.
It's worth noting that the Holocaust receives substantial coverage in Charedi media, but not systematic coverage. Then again, nothing in Charedi media receives systematic coverage. That's the point.
Many years ago, Yoel Finkelman's "Strictly Kosher Reading" featured on this blog; this is a general thesis of that book (as far as I recall)
And that’s why they have such a small presence in Medicine, Law, Science, and many other fields of human endeavor that they could have contributed to and given a Torah slant to. They wasted their opportunities. And that is why poverty is so prevalent in their society. Both financial and intellectual.
Just wondering why you didn't mention חדש ניסן as being a valid objection halachically. Eulogies are never permitted other than in the presence of the deceased prior to burial and only in the case of an exceptional Torah scholar. A national day of mourning during this month is clearly not in compliance and the only reason the dati leumi community recognizes it is because they prioritize a comfortable relationship with the state, which set that date against their objections, over careful commitment to halacha when any leniency can be found. I understand the argument for that but you should have referenced this issue as a valid one, aside from your correct observations about their primary objection.
It's a valid point that has been raised but there's no comparison. The customs of the sefiras haomer period are too refrain from joyous activities like music and weddings - not to actively grieve/mourn, which is not allowed on Nissan. Yom Hashoah is about grief and mourning.
Music and wedding, and haircuts, are forbidden specifically as a halachic mourning practices, similar to the three weeks.
In contrast, Yom Hashoah does not have any mourning practices.
And the activities prohibited in Nisan, except hesped, are not mourning practices. (For example saying tachanun is forbidden to a mourner, and also forbidden in Nisan.) And none of these activities is typically done on Yom Hashoah.
Why only for an exceptional Torah Scholar? Why not any exceptional person? Does a Doctor who treated patients for over 50 years or a Teacher who dedicated their life to their students deserve any less respect than a Torah Scholar..???
I'm just quoting the law but the explanation is that the respect is to the Torah more than the person. And I say that as someone who's father, he should live and be well, was a doctor who treated patients for over fifty years. A highly respected brain surgeon, as it happens. But that does not distinguish him from any other great person who lived a great life. The Torah does, though, as it is the one universal, infinite value we are all taught to revere above all others and it is one worth eulogizing about in an otherwise spiritually joyous time. It is not just about someone's life and health in this world - it is their connection to God and eternity. No value can match that, as much as it may deserve our reverence and appreciation.
I'm sorry, but that's a Midrash you took out of context. It's on the past tense and the rest of it is "by 26 generations," meaning, the world lived through דרך ארץ for 26 generations before the Torah was given. The idea is that the world needed to become a civilization before it could receive the Torah, which presupposes a civilization. Having דרך ארץ, in the general sense, means being civil and an active, successful part of civilized society. None of this had any bearing on the explicit law that eulogies are not permitted in Nissan except for an exceptional Torah scholar whose body is present prior to his burial.
I don't mean to pick on you but you're not writing with Halachic awareness. The three weeks is custom, not halacha - only the nine days (or primarily the week in which 9 Av falls) are halacha and do include mourning, such as not eating meat or washing clothes. The three weeks, like sefira, is a time to avoid simcha but not a time to mourn. The haircuts is the only mourning related costum but again, it's an extension that's not halacha and not even practiced by sefardim. Yom Hashoah is intended as to remember the worst atrocities in modern history and if it doesn't cause someone grief and mourning he's an insensitive clod.
I think there are 2 other reasons why the charedim haven't created their own Holocaust Memorial Day and why you didn't learn about in your school:
1 It raises theological issues of theodicy and just like charedim avoid learning Tanach to avoid dealing with difficult questions, they avoid any subject that might raise difficult theological questions such as the Holocaust because they teach that they do have all the answers (or at least the Gedolim do) and they can provide people with certainty that is so lacking in every other community in today's world
2 It raises uncomfortable questions about their leaders and what they told their followers to do, if the community actually studied the history of that period. The honest approach would be to admit that they didn't see what was coming and were too fixated on the risks of assimilation if their followers left Eastern Europe but that would undermine Daas Torah which is at the centre of their approach. So instead they don't talk about it, don't commemorate it and hope that no one asks any questions
I suspect 1) is the strongest reason that has been mentioned so far.
If Hareidim want Tisha B’Av to be central to memory of the Shoah, and if you ask them most will agree that they do, then why are there a grand total of only two, TWO Kinnah in the Artscroll Kinnos for the Holocaust. Most are for the First Beit HaMikdash. The second largest number for the second then for the Middle Ages and at the very end they graciously added only two for the event that saw the most Jews ever killed and with survivors still around to give testimony.
The real reason is they cannot admit that they cannot grasp the severity of the event and the questions of doubt of faith it raises so best to quietly ignore it. That’s how Haredim deal with the Shoah….
Which editions of Kinnot have more than 2 kinnot for the Holocaust? And did Artscroll take a survey of Charedi opinion before publishing their Kinnos?
Artscroll doesn’t breathe without asking the gedolim first. Of course they asked before adding them.
The recurring question on this blog - why Charedim don't study or read about [X subject] - gets an ad hoc answer each time it comes up. (Other examples: why don't they study science? Why don't they read about Zionist yeshivas?)
A more parsimonious explanation: Charedim, like other fundamentalist religious communities, operate within an extremely narrow sanctioned curriculum and a tightly restricted reading list. The core consists of Gemara and halacha along with their associated literature. Charedi media, for its part, covers two main areas: politics and hagiographic accounts of last century's rabbinic figures.
It's worth noting that the Holocaust receives substantial coverage in Charedi media, but not systematic coverage. Then again, nothing in Charedi media receives systematic coverage. That's the point.
Many years ago, Yoel Finkelman's "Strictly Kosher Reading" featured on this blog; this is a general thesis of that book (as far as I recall)
And that’s why they have such a small presence in Medicine, Law, Science, and many other fields of human endeavor that they could have contributed to and given a Torah slant to. They wasted their opportunities. And that is why poverty is so prevalent in their society. Both financial and intellectual.
Just wondering why you didn't mention חדש ניסן as being a valid objection halachically. Eulogies are never permitted other than in the presence of the deceased prior to burial and only in the case of an exceptional Torah scholar. A national day of mourning during this month is clearly not in compliance and the only reason the dati leumi community recognizes it is because they prioritize a comfortable relationship with the state, which set that date against their objections, over careful commitment to halacha when any leniency can be found. I understand the argument for that but you should have referenced this issue as a valid one, aside from your correct observations about their primary objection.
A day of mourning in the middle of the Omer period of mourning. Horrors!
It's a valid point that has been raised but there's no comparison. The customs of the sefiras haomer period are too refrain from joyous activities like music and weddings - not to actively grieve/mourn, which is not allowed on Nissan. Yom Hashoah is about grief and mourning.
Music and wedding, and haircuts, are forbidden specifically as a halachic mourning practices, similar to the three weeks.
In contrast, Yom Hashoah does not have any mourning practices.
And the activities prohibited in Nisan, except hesped, are not mourning practices. (For example saying tachanun is forbidden to a mourner, and also forbidden in Nisan.) And none of these activities is typically done on Yom Hashoah.
Why only for an exceptional Torah Scholar? Why not any exceptional person? Does a Doctor who treated patients for over 50 years or a Teacher who dedicated their life to their students deserve any less respect than a Torah Scholar..???
I'm just quoting the law but the explanation is that the respect is to the Torah more than the person. And I say that as someone who's father, he should live and be well, was a doctor who treated patients for over fifty years. A highly respected brain surgeon, as it happens. But that does not distinguish him from any other great person who lived a great life. The Torah does, though, as it is the one universal, infinite value we are all taught to revere above all others and it is one worth eulogizing about in an otherwise spiritually joyous time. It is not just about someone's life and health in this world - it is their connection to God and eternity. No value can match that, as much as it may deserve our reverence and appreciation.
You are quoting the Law wrong….דרך ארץ קדמה לתורה…
I'm sorry, but that's a Midrash you took out of context. It's on the past tense and the rest of it is "by 26 generations," meaning, the world lived through דרך ארץ for 26 generations before the Torah was given. The idea is that the world needed to become a civilization before it could receive the Torah, which presupposes a civilization. Having דרך ארץ, in the general sense, means being civil and an active, successful part of civilized society. None of this had any bearing on the explicit law that eulogies are not permitted in Nissan except for an exceptional Torah scholar whose body is present prior to his burial.
I don't mean to pick on you but you're not writing with Halachic awareness. The three weeks is custom, not halacha - only the nine days (or primarily the week in which 9 Av falls) are halacha and do include mourning, such as not eating meat or washing clothes. The three weeks, like sefira, is a time to avoid simcha but not a time to mourn. The haircuts is the only mourning related costum but again, it's an extension that's not halacha and not even practiced by sefardim. Yom Hashoah is intended as to remember the worst atrocities in modern history and if it doesn't cause someone grief and mourning he's an insensitive clod.