Brandeis Society Event: ‘We are survivors, united in hope and memory’

By Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

October 16, 2024

The Brooklyn Brandeis Society and the Chabad Tzedek Society marked the beginning of the Jewish New Year with an event at the Brooklyn Bar Association on Oct. 8, drawing a crowd of over 60 attendees. The event featured speeches, blessings, and a moment of silence in remembrance of the tragic events of Oct. 7, 2023.

Rabbi Eliyahu Raskin, representing the Chabad Tzedek Society, explained the significance of connecting the observance to Oct. 7.

Judges in attendance, along with Rabbi Raskin and Rabbi Eli Blokh, Steve Cohn and Brandeis Society President Jeffrey Miller, gather for a group photo following the event. Brooklyn Eagle photo by Robert Abruzzese

“We thought about what we should do to honor this event between the high holy days, and we decided to connect this event to Oct. 7,” Rabbi Raskin said. “We’re going to ask Judge Cyrulnik to come up and say a few words, and then, afterward, we are going to blow the shofar for those in captivity and for those who we have lost.”

Justice Miriam Cyrulnik reflected on the balance between marking both tragedy and hope.

Judge Cenceria Edwards, president of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association, leads the pledge of allegiance to open the ceremony. Brooklyn Eagle photo by Robert Abruzzese

“Yesterday, we marked one year since the tragedy in Israel,” Justice Cyrulnik said. “In the shadow of that observance, we are here to mark the sweetness and the hopefulness of a new year. How is that possible? I remember asking my father, who was a Holocaust survivor and who lost his entire family except for one brother, is it hard for you to be happy on a holiday? He said, of course, it is, but on each holiday, it reminds me I’m alive, and it is a “stuh” — Yiddish for a defiant gesture — to Hitler that I’m alive … and in spite of tragedy, I focus on the fact that I am alive. I am alive to continue on, to have hope, and to build a Jewish family individually and as a community of survivors.

“That’s what we are today. We are survivors because whether we know or knew the victims personally, we are all one family as Jews and as human beings. We stand proudly for who and what we are, so that’s how it is possible for us to be happy and thrive in spite of the tragedy that sometimes afflicts us,” she said.

Justice Miriam Cyrulnik delivers a heartfelt speech, reflecting on her father’s experiences as a Holocaust survivor and the resilience of the Jewish community. Brooklyn Eagle photo by Robert Abruzzese

Following Judge Cyrulnik’s remarks, Rabbi Raskin blew the shofar, a traditional Jewish instrument used in religious ceremonies.

“I’ve been practicing for this moment all my life,” he joked.

Rabbi Eliyahu Raskin addresses the attendees, discussing the significance of the event and its connection to Oct. 7. Brooklyn Eagle photo by Robert Abruzzese

The event also included readings of Jewish blessings by Steve Cohn and Judge Lawrence Knipel, with Knipel reading in English and Cohn in Hebrew.

Jeffrey Miller, president of the Brandeis Society, addressed the audience, urging them to join the association and participate in future events. He also reflected on the importance of Oct. 7.

Judge Lawrence Knipel reads a Jewish blessing in English as part of the event’s ceremonial proceedings. Brooklyn Eagle photo by Robert Abruzzese

“We decided to hold this event the day after so we can reflect and look at the current events, look at what’s happening and decide if we have made enough of a difference in the last year,” Miller said. “Frankly, I’m concerned about what I saw.

“I looked at my son’s school at Cornell, and the way they are talking about Oct. 7 is a debate about the Hamas War; that’s what it means there. It is the start of the Hamas War,” Miller continued. “At Brooklyn College, where my wife went to school, they talked about protests and safe spaces, but then they marched to the Hillel and blocked children leaving the daycare and the children’s school at Hillel at Brooklyn College. Then I looked at the University of Maryland, where I went, and we all saw in the news: they are marking this as a day to remember other causes.”

Brandeis Society President Jeffrey Miller speaks about the importance of remembering the atrocities of Oct. 7 and resisting efforts to politicize the tragedy. Brooklyn Eagle photo by Robert Abruzzese

Miller continued by emphasizing the importance of keeping the focus on the atrocities of Oct. 7.

“All of them have meaning, and everyone deserves to be heard, and there are incredibly important discussions to have about every topic, but Oct. 7 is not about the war,” Miller said. “Oct. 7 is about the fact that parents were killed in front of their children. It’s not a political day we have to remember; it is a day of barbarism.

From left to right: Hon. Devin Cohn, Steven Braunstein, Hon. Anne Swern, George Farkas and Michael Farkas at the Brooklyn Brandeis Society’s Jewish New Year event. Brooklyn Eagle photo by Robert Abruzzese

“We need to remember that we do not need to focus on parity. Not every bad act has a moral parity. Focus on what Oct. 7 meant to us. There is room for discussion about every political statement, but let’s not dilute the message of what Oct. 7 meant to us,” he said.

The event concluded with announcements of upcoming activities, including a Unity in Diversity Fair on Oct. 30 and a Black History Month event in February.