Congregation Tifereth Israel’s candles fund field trip to tolerance center

Congregation Tifereth Israel in Greenport held its Yom HaShoah service April 23, where they lit yellow candles in remembrance of those lost in the Holocaust. The donations accepted for the distribution of these candles fund a field trip for world history students from Greenport High School to visit the Holocaust Museum and Tolerance Center in Glen Cove.

“Yom HaShoah means ‘Day of Remembrance,’ and it is to commemorate the six million people who were murdered during the Holocaust,” said Sara Bloom, president of Congregation Tifereth Israel.

The congregation orders the candles and distributes them for free to every member and anyone in the community who might like to participate. Each candle has the name of a child who was lost in the Holocaust attached. 

“When you light your candle, you can be thinking of that particular child,” said Ms. Bloom. 

Congregant Chuck Simon, founder of the program, introduced the yellow candles to the community when he moved to the North Fork from Manhattan. He decided to bring the school district in as a way of including the next generation.

“I realized that the world history [class] has a unit on the Holocaust,” said Mr. Simon. “This is the third year we’re doing this … It’s become a very nice partnership. The members of the congregation are delighted to be supported helping the Greenport school system, which could use some help, and [they are] happy to have this program.”

Changes to the field trip have made it possible for the donations to go even further. While the class used to travel into Manhattan, they now visit the HMTC in Glen Cove, which costs significantly less. 

“This year, fortunately enough, it will probably underwrite the total cost of their trip, which includes admission charges, plus the bus,” said Mr. Simon. 

The students study the Holocaust in class, then visit the museum, then describe their experience at a service after the trip.

“It’s become a very meaningful effort for everybody. I think this year, some of the kids who came, they said, ‘No, I never realized that, that the Holocaust just didn’t just happen to Jews.’“

The school district has leaned into the partnership, creating an ongoing dialogue between the students and the congregation as part of the lessons on the Holocaust.

“We are deeply grateful for the partnership with Congregation Tifereth Israel, whose generous support is enabling our students to visit the Holocaust Museum and Tolerance Center,” Greenport high school principal Gary Kalish said in an email. “This powerful experience is further enriched through Zoom discussions with members of the Jewish community, allowing students to reflect on what they’ve learned and engage in meaningful dialogue. Together, we are fostering understanding, empathy and a lasting commitment to remembering history.”

Judith Weiner, an organizer of the synagogue’s yellow candle project, has a deep connection to Israel. Many of her family members live there, and she has two grandchildren in the Israel Defense Forces, one of whom did three tours of duty. She believes the students may gain a deeper understanding of current events through their visit.

“Not one of them knew anything about the Holocaust until they went to that museum, and it had a very dramatic impact on them. And I would suspect that what happened in Germany in the ‘30s would be something some of these kids might connect to, given the current immigration issues that people are feeling, getting snatched up in the street today,” said Ms. Weiner.

“[We are hoping] to really alert these young people about what had happened at that time, and that antisemitism is still happening in the world today. So it’s our way of informing them. We’re hoping that they will understand what hate can do and that they would look differently on hate as it rises through the Jewish community and other groups around the world, who are essentially the targets of hate,” said Ms. Bloom.