Remembering & Forgetting

I wanted to share with you a beautiful idea from the Bluzheve Rebbe on this comings weeks Parsha Miketz & Chanukah. Parshas Miketz begins with the expression "Vyihee Miketz Shnasayim Yamim..." This refers to the time since the incident at the end of last week's Parsha which finishes with the pasuk "V'lo Zachar Sar Hamashkim Es Yosef Va'Yishkachahu" (The Sar Hamashkim did not remember Yosef and he forgot him). The pasuk at the end of VaYeshev needs clarification since if you don't remember someone, obviously you forgot. The Bluzheve Rebbe offers this beautifull insight into the pasuk. He explains, that there is a concept of not remembering and there is a separate concept of forgetting. There are some things in life that one can't remember, but that one can't forget either. What is such an event? The Holocaust. It is too painful to remember, but yet we can never forget it either. As painful as it is we must at times, remember it.

The following incident occurred to the Bluzheve Rebbe himself in Bergen Belsen on Chanukah during the middle of the Holocaust. Erev Chanukah had been a particularly hard day in the camp. Many Jews had been randomly taken out and shot. The bodies were still lying on the ground as the day ended. The Jews that remained got together found an old shoe, made some oil out of shoe polish, made a wick out of threads of a garment and wanted to light Ner Chanukah. The Bluzheve Rebbe, being one of the leaders in the camp, was chosen to light the Ner Chanukah. After saying the first two brachos he hesitated before saying the third bracha of she'hechiyanu. He looked around and then made the bracha. There was a Jew who later came to the Bluzheve Rebbe and asked, "I understand how you can make the first bracha and I can understand how you make the second bracha but how can you in this terrible place and terrible time of our lives make the she'hechiyanu thanking Hashem bringing us to this time?"

The Bluzheve Rebbe looked at the Jew and said "You know, I had the same problem. But then I looked around and saw that these Jews in these worst of circumstances, surrounded by death and destruction, got together and insisted on fulfilling the mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles even in these horrible conditions. I said to myself for this alone one can and should make the blessing "she'hechiyanu v'kiyamanu v'higeeyanu lazman hazeh."

L'havdil, when we made the brachos on the Ner Chanukah this year, it was extremely painful but our kavanos on the bracha of "she'hechiyanu v'kiyamanu v'higeeyanu lazman hazeh" should not in any way be hampered by the pain we feel. All that we need to do is look around the room and thank Hashem for the Shefa Brachos that he has so graciously blessed all of us. The pain remains and can never be forgotten but we have to continue every day with the same emunadik bitochon and hakoros hatov so exemplified by the Bluzheve Rebbe in the most difficult of times. As Babi so boldly said, "We all come from survivors, and we therefore have instilled in us, the kochos to be survivors". IY"H the renewed hakara and appreciation we should feel toward Hakodesh Baruch Hu for the many brachos in our lives should be an alliah Yehuda's Neshama and for our whole family.