Rabbi addresses the problem of suffering

Jewish Learning Institute class takes philosophical approach to Holocaust, but the issue is also personal for Aron David Berkowitz.NEWPORT BEACH -- In framing the discussion for Tuesday evening’s Holocaust seminar, Rabbi Aron David Berkowitz of congregation Adat Israel in Huntington Beach focused on one question: Why do bad things happen to good people?

In the days leading up to the event, Berkowitz had another important task: Convincing those who could not stomach hearing about the Holocaust that this would be more than a forum about concentration camps and death totals.

“One person said, ‘I can’t come; it’s too depressing,’” Berkowitz said Tuesday morning. “My answer was, ‘The way this course handles the subject is anything but depressing.... We’re not dealing with the gory details. We are talking from a philosophical perspective.’”

The aim of the new Holocaust educational initiative, which kicked off simultaneously at the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach and at about 160 other locations worldwide, is to spark discussion about how people -- and Jews, specifically -- deal with pain and suffering.

Called “Beyond Never Again,” the six-week program is sponsored by the education-oriented Jewish Learning Institute. Each week, a new topic relating to the Holocaust will be discussed during a 90-minute session. The same lesson plan is being used by rabbis and community leaders across the world.

The program is backed by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and a number of other institutes devoted to studying the topic. Before his death last month, Holocaust historian Simon Wiesenthal endorsed the content of the instruction.

Berkowitz led the group of about 25 people through a series of readings from a book prepared by the Jewish Learning Institute. It is a mixture of biblical study and philosophy.

Costa Mesa resident Margo Hacker said she came to the first session to get a better understanding of the Holocaust.

“I have so many questions,” Hacker said. “If I can get some of them answered, I’ll be happy.”

Berkowitz began the session by sharing with the group his connection to the Holocaust.

He was born in 1947 in a displaced-persons camp in Germany. His parents survived the Holocaust and lost much of their immediate family in concentration camps.

“The experience is very personal to me,” Berkowitz told the group.

The beginning of “Beyond Never Again” is timed to coincide with the anniversary of Kristallnacht, Nov. 9, 1938, a violent night that marked the beginning of Adolf Hitler’s Final Solution against European Jewry.

Reuven Mintz, director of the Chabad Jewish Center of Newport Beach, said the program goes beyond history and speaks to faith, tragedy and the human experience.

“It’s an entirely new approach to learning about the Holocaust,” Mintz said.

“It’s not just about facts and figures like many of the other courses that have appeared. It’s about what it all means -- we probe the moral lessons.”

Mintz said that in the Jewish community, the first 20 years after the Holocaust were about rebuilding.

The next few years were dedicated to documentation.

Now, he said, the goal is to find a suitable way to keep the message of perseverance alive.

“As survivors and witnesses die, keeping the message relevant becomes even more important,” he said.

“We are challenged to pass information on to the next generation so that it will make a difference in their lives.”

Mintz, who lost great-grandparents in the Holocaust, said each person has to decide how to remember the suffering.

“On a personal level, it’s a call to action,” Mintz said.

Those interested in attending future classes can call (949) 721-9800 or visit www.myjli.com.