What Is the Charedi View on Yom HaShoah?
Yom HaShoah, established by the Israeli government as Holocaust Remembrance Day, is observed each year on the 27th of Nissan. It is marked by sirens, ceremonies, and moments of silence across the country. For many Israelis—especially in the secular world—it is the central day of remembering the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis, often accompanied by themes of Jewish strength, defiance, and national pride.
But the Charedi world, while just as devastated by the Holocaust and deeply committed to remembering its kedoshim, does not observe Yom HaShoah in the same way.
Why not?
We Mourn—But Not on This Day
The timing of Yom HaShoah was not chosen based on the Jewish calendar or Torah values. It was set by a secular government, without the input of Gedolei Yisrael or Torah authorities. The 27th of Nissan is within the month of Nissan, a time traditionally associated with simchah and geulah—not public mourning.
As the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 429:2) states:
“כל החודש כולו אסור בהספד.” “The entire month [of Nissan] is prohibited for delivering eulogies.”
Public mourning practices—especially new ones that contradict halachah—cannot simply be invented by political decree.
This is why many Charedim choose to focus their remembrance on Tisha B’Av, the established national day of Jewish tragedy, or Asarah B’Teves, where Kaddish may be said for those who have no known yahrtzeit.
Memory Through Torah, Not Secular Ritual
The sirens, the standing in silence, the speeches by government officials—while emotionally powerful—do not reflect the Torah approach to memory and mourning.
We remember our martyrs not with nationalism, but with Mishnayos, Tehillim, and Torah learning in their merit.
We don't need ceremonies in public squares—we need maamadot tefillah in batei midrash and shuls. We don't pause for a siren—we rise for a Kaddish d’rabbanan. That is how we remember. That is how we honor.
The Chazon Ish zt”l, Rav Shach zt”l, the Satmar Rebbe zt”l, and many other Gedolim all expressed discomfort with the secular framing of Yom HaShoah and instead encouraged Torah-based remembrance.
Mourning Without Political Messages
One of the main concerns among Charedi leaders is how Yom HaShoah has been used to promote secular or Zionist ideologies. Often, it is tied to the theme: “We need a Jewish army and a Jewish state so that a Holocaust never happens again.”
This narrative suggests that the Shoah occurred because Jews were weak or stateless—not because of Divine hester panim, as the Torah teaches.
Rav Yitzchak Hutner zt”l warned against this distortion. He believed that framing the Holocaust as the price for not having a state reduces its spiritual message and replaces emunah with nationalism.
The Charedi world mourns the loss of six million Jews—not to strengthen a political identity, but to strengthen our yiras Shamayim, our commitment to Torah, and our understanding that history is shaped not by tanks, but by teshuvah.
We Remember—Every Single Day
Unlike a once-a-year observance, Charedim remember the Shoah all year long.
- We name yeshivos after lost kehillos.
- We say Kaddish for relatives who have no graves.
- We continue the mesorah of Torah learning from communities that were destroyed.
- We build families grounded in emunah—because that’s the real revenge against Hitler: not hatred, but holiness.
Conclusion: Memory With Mesorah
We don’t need a siren to remind us.
We remember in our davening, in our Torah, in the generations we raise. And that memory is not one of anger—but of achrayus, responsibility to ensure that the next chapter of Jewish history is filled with light.
The Charedi world remembers every soul, but we do it in a way that is rooted in halachah, mesorah, and the eternity of Torah—not in secular expressions or state-imposed rituals.
Footnotes & Sources
- Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 429:2 – prohibition on eulogies during Nissan.
- Igros Chazon Ish – opposition to secular memorial forms.
- Pachad Yitzchak, Maamarim by Rav Yitzchak Hutner – critiques of nationalism replacing emunah.
- Michtavim uMaamarim, Rav Shach – statements on how Torah remembrance must take precedence.
- Vayoel Moshe, Satmar Rebbe – rejection of secular-nationalist framing of Jewish suffering.