Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel

Today is the Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel. Lots of sad songs on the radio; lots of videos and written testaments of survivors, who slowly perish from this world due to their old age. A sad day. Whenever I hear those testaments, I cannot help but thinking of the chilling verses from the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 28, verses that sadly came true not only during World War II, but also during our almost 2000 year long bitter, bitter exile: "The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an EAGLE swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young... "

More chilling verses from this chapter here:

"If you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands... you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. Your carcasses will be food for all the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away... day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you... You will build a house, but you will not live in it... Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand... A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. The sights you see will drive you mad... The Lord will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors... You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you... You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity... The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young... You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number... The Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other... Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see."

All these curses came about in the place and time where many Jews tried with all their might to discard their Judaism, their Jewish identity, the Torah, their covenant with G-d. It started in Germany in the beginning of the 20th century, a place and time where the Haskalah movement was at its peak strength (Haskalah - Jewish "enlightenment" movement calling on Jews to discard the Torah, to become more German than the Germans, to stop believing in G-d). Sadly, all the threats that G-d threatened us with if we leave Him, happened then and there. 

Gladly, there are verses prophesying our redemption and consolation - the fulfillment of which we thankfully see these days (Ezekiel 36: 8-11 and many, many more). If anyone needs more proof to the existence of G-d and to the truth of the Torah, I guess every day in the unique, strange, incredible, improbable history of the Nation of Israel can provide ample proof for that.

In their memory.