Since 1999, the Upper West Side Jewish community has gathered on Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) to read the names of those among the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. In 24 years, we have still not read all the names.
Upper West Side synagogues take turns hosting the overnight reading, which will be hosted this year by Congregation Ansche Chesed. Rabbis in the community begin the reading at 10 pm, and each synagogue invites their members to read during their dedicated slot throughout the night. The reading pauses at 7 am and continues at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, the event’s convener, at 9 am, where members of the public are welcome to read and bear witness. All readers must be in person, and witnesses can view in person or virtually.
“The Reading of the Names exemplifies the power of community,” says Rachel Kunstadt, the JCC’s director of Adult Jewish Learning. “We gather eighteen neighborhood synagogues and Jewish organizations, engaging the Upper West Side Jewish community as one.”
Reading of the Names will begin on Monday, April 17, at 10 pm at Congregation Ansche Chesed (251 W. 100th St.), until Tuesday, April 18 at 7 am, and then continue at 9 am at the JCC (334 Amsterdam Ave), concluding with Kaddish at 6 pm.
For more info, along with the livestream link, click here.
