Who We Become When We Bear Witness

Dear Harvard Hillel Community,

This past Monday, Harvard Hillel and Harvard Chabad jointly welcomed Bronia Brandman, a survivor of Auschwitz, to share her story with our community for Yom HaShoah.

I have learned about the Holocaust my whole life, in school, at home, through books and films. And yet, there is something very different about sitting in a room with someone who actually lived it.

What moved me most wasn’t just Bronia’s testimony, as incredible as it was. It was watching the people around me. The care and thoughtfulness people brought to their questions and the fact that so many people came together to listen. One student told me afterward that they had never heard a survivor speak before. Another said they had learned the history in school, but hearing about the specific people in Bronia’s story made it land differently, and harder.

Bronia spoke a lot about family, about how central it was to her, how it kept her going. I’ve been thinking about that sensibility since Monday and am struck by what it means to carry people with you for decades.

Yom HaShoah is a reminder of the enormous pain we hold together – and of the power of collective remembrance. I’m grateful to be in a community that remembers. We will be furthering this commitment next week when we come together for Yom HaZikaron on Tuesday to hear stories of loss from our own community, and the following night to celebrate Israeli independence at our Yom Ha’atzmaut BBQ, both again in partnership with Harvard Chabad.

These weeks in the Jewish calendar take us on an arc from communal grief to joy. I am grateful to be traveling on that arc with this community.

Shabbat Shalom,