Who Knows One

Who Knows One
A Poem on Holocaust Memorial Day
by Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman



Just last week we joined in prayer, song and laughter
As families and friends reclined in comfort
Around a beautifully set table, brightly lit candles,
Celebrating freedom from persecution and oppression.


Tonight we sit with heads bowed in silence, alone with our sadness.
The darkness we sense around us is heavy, oppressive;
Would six million candles begin to chase it out?


Last week we remembered our deliverance;
Tonight we remember our destruction.
Last week we taught our children how God’s outstretched arm
Destroyed Pharaoh’s army, chariots and horsemen drowned in the
Sea.


Tonight we know not what to say
When our children look up at us and ask,
“Where was God? Why was God silent?”


Last week the ancient, familiar words rolled off our tongue;
Tonight we are dumbfounded.
Last week we sang “Mi chamocha,”
Tonight we wonder, are we alone in the infinite universe?


Last week, Elijah’s full cup glittered with wonder and hope;
The bitter herb gave way to full sweetness of wine and apples.
At midnight, we sang softly Chad Gadya, an only kid…


Tonight the bitterness lasts far past chatzi ha-layil
The eternal, infernal darkness not broken in half for the dawn,
No afikomen, no sweet dessert, no remembrance of past joyous
Seders;
On our palate tonight there are no songs of praise
No chad gadya, no “Who Knows One.”


No fierce wind, no fire, no quaking,
No still clear voice speaking to us from a smoldering bush,
The heavens won’t open, a drop won’t spill from God’s cup of sorrow.
Only silence and unanswered questions,
As the wax tapers down and the darkness descends.




Boaz D. Heilman
Yom Hashoah, 5772
April 18, 2012