MARCH OF THE LIVING
MARCH OF THE LIVING
March of the Living is an annual educational program which brings students from all over the world to Poland, in order to study the history of the Holocaust and to examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance and hate.
"When kids go on this March, they understand who they are, where they came from, what our people have lived for, what they have died for, and what they have to be alive for. They understand what Israel is ... and, why Israel is there."
- Rabbi Felipe Goodman
All photos are from Majdanek where the Las Vegas scholarship recipients are on the March of the Living.
In 2006, Temple Beth Sholom founded a scholarship fund to enable Las Vegas Jewish teens in eleventh and twelfth grades to experience where Jews lived for 400 years until the arrival of the Nazis in 1939-1941.
The week in Poland culminates when Las Vegas teens are joined by 10,000 others in the March of the Living, the solemn march from the Auschwitz to Birkenau concentration camps on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day.
From Poland, teens travel to Israel spending a week visiting such places as Tel Aviv, Lake Kinneret, Massada, the Dead Sea and Jerusalem. They experience the commemoration of Yom HaZikaron, a tribute to the fallen soldiers of Israel and the celebration of the independence of the State of Israel, Yom Ha'atzmaut.
March of the Living teen participants from Las Vegas have been have been benefactors of the inspiration of Temple Beth Sholom member, Shirley Chaplin. It was Shirley who inspired Temple Beth Sholom to create a meaningful tribute in the memory of beloved congregant, Audrey Merkin. This special tribute resulted in the Audrey Merkin Scholarship Fund.
According to Temple Beth Sholom Rabbi Felipe Goodman, "Shirley Chaplin is the chamash on the hanukkiah, for without her, we would not be able to kindle other lights."
Along with Audrey Merkin Scholarship Fund and new partner, the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, 40 Las Vegas teenagers have joined the March of the Living program. Our Las Vegas teen participants have formed relationships with other teens from throughout the USA and the world, from Canada to Europe to Australia to Latin America.
For more information on March of the Living, please contact Deborah Havre at 702- 804-1333.