BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – As the world marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday, remembering the 6 million Jewish people who died and the millions of others who faced persecution at the hands of Nazis, a piece of history at a Vermont synagogue is a reminder of the Holocaust every day.
The Ohavi Zedek Synagogue has been a home for the Jewish community for decades. But when you walk in, there is a display that catches your eye.
“This is the Rexingen Torah,” said Michael Schaal, a member of the Ohavi Zedek synagogue in Burlington. “It’s a very important artifact for us.”
This Torah, which contains the laws of Judaism, dates back to 1750. It was kept in a synagogue in Rexingen, Germany, but it was left to be destroyed and forgotten about the night the Nazis attacked the Jews.
“The night of Kristallnacht, the night of the broken glass, this Torah was left in a gutter,” Schaal said. “It was left in the gutter in the hope that it would just be destroyed.”
The synagogue was burned, but only partially to the ground. A police officer noticed and rescued the Torah and gave it to a local Jewish couple, Harry and Irene Kahn. Escaping Hitler and Nazi Germany, the two brought the Torah eventually to Vermont. Harry Kahn became a professor at the University of Vermont. In 1960, the Kahns donated the Torah to Ohavi Zedek, and eventually their hutch, too, in which the Torah is displayed.
“It’s not just an artifact, it’s not just a museum piece; this is a living document,” Schaal said.
The living document is still used today. Rabbi Aaron Philmus of Ohavi Zedek says the scroll, most likely made of sheepskin, is used on special occasions like at holiday services.
“We are trying to protect this. At the same time, we do use it, for instance on Yom Kippur,” Philmus said.
Torah scrolls are an essential part of the Jewish religion and a connection to the past and future.
“This is really a sacred book and we are celebrating and loving our story and our heritage and our connection to god,” Philmus said.
But with this specific scroll, a survivor of the Holocaust which has a connection to this synagogue.
“It’s really important that we have physical remnants from the Jewish community that lived in Europe and Eastern Europe during the Holocaust,” Philmus said. “We have several second-, third- and fourth-generation family members of people who survived the Holocaust.”
They feel it’s important on International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27 to honor and remember those who were lost and to have something physical to see and hold as a reminder.
“The fact that the world acknowledges that this happened and doesn’t want to forget. We feel it’s incredibly important,” the rabbi said.
“It’s a testament to the resilience of the Jewish people because if Hitler had his way, Jewish people would have been eradicated from the earth and instead we not only survived but we thrive,” Schaal said.
A reminder of those lost and the strength that lives on today right here in Vermont.