By Rabbi Benjy Brackman on April 13, 2010 

Holocaust Education Course Dedicated to the Memory of Broomfield Holocaust Survivor Martin Small

April 2010 – Chabad of NW Metro Denver will present Beyond Never Again, a six-part course about the Holocaust beginning April 28^th. Created by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), the world’s largest network of adult education, Beyond Never Again will premier in over 300 locations worldwide and has won support from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Yad Vashem, and more than 100 centers and institutes devoted to studying the Holocaust around the world. The course will be presented by Rabbi Benjy Brackman, executive director of Chabad of NW Metro Denver.

Envisioned as a journey into the intense realm of meaning,Beyond Never Again examines the universal themes that the Holocaust forces us to confront, such as the nature of good and evil, and how empathy and conscience may be nurtured. The course is formulated as a series of facilitated discussions that will enable participants to articulate their personal responses to the Holocaust, and provides relevant angles on some of life’s most difficult questions pertaining to faith and suffering.

The course is dedicated in memory of Mr. Martin Small of Broomfield who was a Holocaust survivor of the Mauthausen concentration camp and a frequent member of the Chabad Jewish Center of NW Metro Denver in Westminster. Mr. Small passed away November 29, 2008. “I am delighted that Rabbi Brackman is teaching this course” says Doris Small, Martin’s wife. “I know that this is something that Martin would have endorsed and therefore strongly urge my friends and neighbors to sign up for the classes. The Holocaust is something we must never forget, but also must remember how to apply its lessons in today’s day and age” says Small.

Starting at 7:00 pm on April 28^th at The Chabad House 4505W 112^th Ave. Westminster, Beyond Never Again will run in Westminster for six consecutive Wednesdays and is expected to draw more than 30 local students to its dynamic text-based and audio-visual classes.

There will also be an afternoon class on Thursdays beginning April 29^th at 1:00 pm. Baby sitting is available. For more info, pricing and to sign up for the class please visit www.thechabadhouse.com/JLI or call 303.429.5177.

This course is also being given in Boulder, Longmont and other Metro Denver locations. For a complete listing of locations please visit www.myjli.com

Explore the ways in which the Holocaust continues to affect our generation and colors what it means to live as a Jew today. The Holocaust forces us to grapple with the existence of evil and suffering. It challenges us to find faith and optimism in the face of devastation and despair. And it humbles us as we encounter heroes of the spirit who fought for truth and decency in the darkest of times.

Course Overview

Lesson 1

Wrestling With G-d

Can We Understand Human Suffering?

Why does G-d allow good people to suffer? Is any explanation adequate? Are we meant to silently accept what we cannot understand? Or is it our moral obligation to quarrel with G-d about the existence of human tragedy?

Lesson 2

The Voice of Your Brother’s Blood Cries Out

How the Holocaust Impacts Us as Jews

The universal message of the Holocaust emerges from the appreciation of its particulars. We cannot begin to fathom what was lost unless we are able to hear individual stories, and see the specific impact of the Holocaust on Jews and Jewish life.

Lesson 3

In Their Deaths They Were Not Parted

The Mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem (Sanctification of G-d’s Name)

What is the purpose of life, and what purposes make life worth living? Why are all those who died in the Holocaust considered holy martyrs, and how does our memory of them affect the way we live our lives today?

Lesson 4

Out of the Depths I Call to You

Finding Faith in Difficult Times

While we cannot always know “why” something happens, we can learn to use every experience as a catalyst for positive transformation. Faith is not a crutch for the weak, but the framework of life for the strong. Trust in G-d is not born of simplistic denial of harsh reality, but of profound humility in the presence of the Divine plan.

Lesson 5

A Tree of Life to Those Who Cling to It

Halachic Questions of the Holocaust Era

Many who lived through the Holocaust continued to turn to Halachah (Jewish Torah law) for guidance. It served as a source of comfort and solace, a spiritual anchor and moral compass in a world gone mad.

Lesson 6

When Night Will Shine Like Day

Ensuring a Brighter Tomorrow

What can we expect of humanity after the Holocaust? How could the most advanced society on earth fall prey to moral bankruptcy? And what made thousands sacrifice their lives to save others? How can we retain faith in the future of the universe—and what we can we do to ensure a brighter tomorrow?