• May 3, 2026
  • 16 5786, Iyyar
  • פרשת בהר־בחקתי

National Tragedies & Religious Observance

In this class for Yom Hashoah, I look at how Jewish communities have responded to tragedy from the earliest times until more recently. From the destruction of the two Temples, to the first Crusade, the martyrs of Blois and the Chmielnicki massacres, tragedies have been commemorated with fasts, prayers or other practices.