Thursday 14 July 2011

The 6 Million "Kedoshim"

Originally published 7/14/11, 11:25 pm.
Tonight I was just in an Orthodox Shul. That shul has a plaque in memory of the 6 million martyrs of the Holocaust which states
"In memory of the Six Million Kedoshim".

However, we know that many were mechalalei Shabbat, apikorsim, kofrim, many even meshumadim! Not to mention, ganavim, gossipers, etc. So how can we term such Holocaust Victims as Kedoshim?

Shalom,
RRW

3 comments:

Bob Miller said...

I've been told that a Jew murdered for being Jewish becomes a kadosh by that fact.

Garnel Ironheart said...

Isn't there a gemara about a couple of good-for-nothings who, when the local Roman governor's daughter was killed, surrendered themselves even though they didn't do it, and because they took the punishment and the community was spared retaliation they became kedoshim?

micha berger said...

Grarnel, the harugei Lud did do something major. So, even if they were good-for-nothings until then -- and I don't see indication of their personality in the gemara one way or the other -- they died by doing something holy.

We discussed this question on Avodah. It left me convinced that the majority of those killed in the Holocaust, did not fulfil the mitzvah of dying al qiddush Hashem. The mitzvah is specifically those who died because they resisted an order to kill, commit sexual immorality, avodah zarah, or public chillul Hashem.

However, they still were "qedoshim". Even objects can have qedushah because of how they were handled, all the more so someone starting out created in the "image" of G-d.