The Mekor Haim Choir will participate in the annual ceremony commemorating the events of Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass. It will take place in the Holocaust Museum of Porto on Thursday November 7, 2024, at 11 a.m. In 1938, on November 9 and 10, there was a vicious outbreak of mob violence against synagogues, Jewish businesses, and homes, in Germany and Austria. This was followed by the arrest and deportation of 30.000 Jews to concentration camps.
The choir will perform two songs related to these events. The first is ‘Ani Ma’amin’. The words are based on the credo of Maimonides: “Even though he may tarry, I believe in perfect faith in the coming of Mashiach.” The melody is attributed to Azriel David Fastag, a cantor from Warsaw who died in Treblinka. He taught the song to others during the deportation journey. Legend says that a man who jumped from the transport train saved his own life and the melody for posterity.
The second song is ‘Wiegala’, a lullaby written by Ilse Weber, from Ostrava in the Czech Republic. She was a nurse for the children in the Terezin concentration camp. She died with her husband and young son who were deported to Auschwitz.
The choir rehearses every Friday afternoon in the Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue and performs regularly in the Holocaust Museum, usually on the last Friday afternoon of every month. Please contact yonahyaphe@hotmail.com for more information on this and future concerts or if you wish to join the choir.
