Zelda: Remembering an Israeli Poet

Among the poets in Israel’s literary circles, many quietly remembered Zelda Schneurson Mishkovsky on Tuesday (April 21) 27 Nissan. That Zelda, as she was simply called, died (in 1984) on the same day designated by the state of Israel as Holocaust Remembrance day, is in itself poetic; her poetry, for which she received the Bialik and Brenner Prizes in literature, speaks of death and darkness but also of renewal and transcendence.

Born in Ukraine in 1914, Zelda was the daughter Rabbi Sholom Shlomo and Rachel Schneurson. Her father was a brother of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, father of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, making Zelda first cousins with the Rebbe.

Zelda’s mother Rachel, was the daughter of a distinguished Chasid, Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Chen, who also descended from a long line of Chabad rabbis. In 1928, she immigrated with her family to Israel. Her father died shortly afterwards. In 1950, at age 36, she married Chayim Aryeh Mishkovsky.

Rabbi Lau: Ahmadinejad should visit Yad Vashem

OSWIECIM, Poland [CHI] — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem in order to overcome his Shoah-denial, Rabbi Yisrael Lau said Tuesday during an emotional speech in Auschwitz.

Remembering Every Day

“They survived and gave us a future. We are here because of them,” explains Rabbi Tzvi Tauby. “Their sacrifices affect our lives every day.”

Communities in Israel and around the world are commemorating the deaths of six million Jews on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. But for the steadily dwindling generation who survived those horrific years, Holocaust Remembrance is a daily experience.