Yom Ha’Shoa

As you know, next week is Yom Ha’shoa, a civil remembrence day here in Israel. Given the immense importance of the Shoa to the Jewish people, and also taking into consideration the numerous other religious observances we have of post-Bet Hamikdash historical events, why haven’t our relgious authoritues established an appropriate way of honoring the Shoa victims?

We today have not the halachic power nor the authority to add more mourning days or fasts to the Jewish calendar, we have enough as it is. However such a traumatic and fundamentally meaningful event as The Holocaust cannot go by without mention therefore in addition to Yom Hashoah the chief rabbis added to the fast of the Tenth of Tevet to be the memorial day to all the Holocaust victims and our national day of mourning – the ninth of Av – to include the Shoah with all the other national tragedies we mourn for on that day. [you can see more about this in the Artscroll edition of Kinot for Tisha B'av]