Auschwitz survivor honored for spirit of ‘forgiveness’
As a child in Auschwitz, Eva Kor endured the insane medical experiments of Nazi butcher Josef Mengele. Today, Kor has forgiven the man who tortured her, and has devoted her life to encouraging forgiveness.
Kor is one of three “heroes of forgiveness” being honored Aug. 3 on International Forgiveness Day, to be celebrated at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael. Other honorees include Julie Chimes of Spain and Jaimiee Karrol, both violent crime victims who now teach forgiveness, and Nadia Bishop, daughter of a Grenadian politician who was assassinated in a coup.
At age 10, twins Eva and Miriam Mozes were taken to Auschwitz where Mengele performed his “experiments.” which continued for nearly a year until Auschwitz was liberated in 1945.
Both sisters survived. Eva Kor (her married name) went on to found the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Indiana, where she now lives.
On Jan. 27, 1995, the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, with her children beside her, Kor signed a document forgiving Mengele and the Nazis for what they had done to her. “As I did that, I felt a burden of pain lifted from me,” she said. “I was no longer in the grip of pain and hate — I was finally free.
“Forgiveness is really nothing more than an act of self-healing and self-empowerment. I call it miracle medicine: It is free, it works and has no side effects.”
The 12th annual International Forgiveness Day awards ceremony will begin 7 p.m. Aug. 3 at the Osher Marin JCC, 200 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael. For more information, call (415) 381-3372.
Beth Am hosts Kabbalah discussion
Kabbalah has become increasingly prevalent in popular culture, thanks to high-profile practitioners such as Madonna — but what does it all really mean?
That’s the question behind Rabbi Naftali Citron’s talk, “The Kabbalah Appeal,” 7:30 p.m. Aug. 4 at Congregation Beth Am. The discussion will look at the secret behind the ancient mystical practice and why it is relevant today.
Citron is the leader of the Carlebach Shul in Manhattan and has made appearances on national television shows like “The Daily Show.” He also founded the Jewish Learning Center in Santa Cruz in 1994.
The free event, co-sponsored by Congregation Kol Emeth, will take place at Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Road in Los Altos Hills. For information, call (650) 493-4661 or e-mail info@betham.org.
Free books available to East Bay families
East Bay families with young children can now receive free Jewish books courtesy of the PJ Library, a national initiative that aims to increase Jewish literacy between parent and child.
PJ Library comes to the East Bay thanks to the Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay and the S.F.-based Jim Joseph Foundation.
Jewish families with children ages 6 months through 5 years living in Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano and Napa counties are eligible to receive free books and CDs each month. As the PJ Library initiative develops in the East Bay, story hours and book groups will be organized.
A national project of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, the PJ Library provides nearly 50,000 monthly subscriptions to Jewish families across the country, and has programs in Santa Cruz and San Francisco.
To sign up, call (510) 839-2900 or e-mail pjlibrary@jfed.org.
Preschool offering new programs
Gan Ami Early Childhood Education Program at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills will start its second school year by offering parent-toddler groups and morning classes for 2- and 3-year-olds.
The 2-year-old transition class is a program in which parents participate with their children in the fall and begin dropping them off twice a week in January.
Gan Ami aims to help all students develop a sense of familiarity and comfort in a Reform Jewish setting. Children spend time in the sanctuary and interact with Beth Am’s cantor, rabbis and educators.
The program was created in collaboration with the Albert L. Schultz Jewish Community Center.
For more information or to enroll, contact Sherrie Rose Maleson at (650) 493-4665 ext. 256, or e-mail her at srmaleson@betham.org.
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California