Six million is a number too large to comprehend. Through the Israel-based organization Our 6 Million and their partnerships with communities throughout the world, more people are lighting candles connected to a person and their story, getting closer to the goal of “a candle for every name."
"Each of Us Has a Name"
(Le’chol Ish Yesh Shem, לְכָל אִישׁ יֵשׁ שָׁם)
The poet Zelda (1914-1984), a devout Hasidic Jew, was well-versed in ancient sacred and traditional Jewi/sh texts. In 1926, she emigrated to Israel from her native Ukraine. Israelis have embraced her poem “Each of Us Has a Name” as an expression of their collective and personal experiences with trauma and loss.
Music by Hanan Yovel, Performed by Chava Alberstein
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לְכָל אִישׁ יֵשׁ שֵׁם שֶׁנָּתַן לוֹ אֱלֹהִים וְנָתְנוּ לוֹ אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ
לְכָל אִישׁ יֵשׁ שָׁם שֶׁנָּתְנוּ לוֹ קוֹמָתוֹ וְאֹפֶן חִיּוּכוֹ וְנָתַן לוֹ הָאָרִיג
לְכָל אִישׁ יֵשׁ שָׁם שֶׁנָּתְנוּ לוֹ הֶהָרִים וְנָתְנוּ לוֹ כְּתָלָיו
לְכָל אִישׁ יֵשׁ שָׁם שֶׁנָּתְנוּ לוֹ הַמַּזָּלוֹת וְנָתְנוּ לוֹ שְׁכֵנָיו
לְכָל אִישׁ יֵשׁ שָׁם שֶׁנָּתְנוּ לוֹ חֲטָאָיו וְנָתְנָה לוֹ כְּמִיהָתוֹ
לְכָל אִישׁ יֵשׁ שָׁם שֶׁנָּתְנוּ לוֹ שׂוֹנְאָיו וְנָתְנָה לוֹ אַהֲבָתוֹ
לְכָל אִישׁ יֵשׁ שָׁם שֶׁנָּתְנוּ לוֹ חַגָּיו וְנָתְנָה לוֹ מְלַאכְתּוֹ
לְכָל אִישׁ יֵשׁ שָׁם שֶׁנָּתְנוּ לוֹ תְּקוּפוֹת הַשָּׁנָה וְנָתַן לוֹ עִוְרוֹנוֹ
לְכָל אִישׁ יֵשׁ שֵׁם שֶׁנָּתַן לוֹ הַיָּם .וְנָתַן לוֹ מוֹתוֹ |
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Each of us has a name given by God and given by our parents
Each of us has a name given by our stature and our smile and given by what we wear
Each of us has a name given by the mountains and given by our walls
Each of us has a name given by the stars and given by our neighbors
Each of us has a name given by our sins and given by our longing
Each of us has a name given by our enemies and given by our love
Each of us has a name given by our celebrations and given by our work
Each of us has a name given by the seasons and given by our blindness
Each of us has a name given by the sea and given by our death. |
Our Six Million
This Israel-based organization keeps the memory of the Holocaust alive. Just as we gather each year to light a Menorah on Chanukkah and read the Haggadah on Passover, families can carry on the tradition of lighting personal memorial candles on Yom Hashoah.
On the site, you may enter onto a candle label the information of someone you wish to remember, or select from the Names Remembered, searchable by gender, year of birth, year of death, place of birth, or occupation.