Dee Voch #570: Light Amid the Darkness

The offices of the popular Yiddish magazine—which comes packed week after week with content that inspires, entertains, informs and engages the its thousands of readers around the world with the beauty of Yidden and Yiddishkeit—are always a hub of furious activity, all the more so in the days surrounding the publication of the post Lag Ba’Omer edition.  

While “Dee Voch” focuses on photographs of Admorim and Rabbonim around the world, and of beautiful Jewish life in general, the weekly “Shrift” supplement features fascinating stories, pieces and historical vignettes, and the “Kinder Shrift” is similarly an engaging and stimulating magazine geared to children.   

“For the most part, this is fun and highly-stimulating work,” related a senior editor at Dee Voch. “But as our writers, editors and contributors were preparing our issue #570, amid the shock and the pain of the events in Meron, we understood that we need to tread with utmost sensitivity. While it is our duty to inform and inspire our readers even during such a terrible time, and address their fears and concerns, we also understand

Following the request of numerous readers, as well as the advice of mechanchim and rabbonim, the coverage was divided… while “Dee Voch” and “Kinder Shrift” focus on the hillula itself ( in addition to general fascinating content) and makes no mention of the tragedy, the “Shrift” section is jam-packed with sensitively and masterfully produced content, filled with heartfelt chizuk, glimpses into the lives of some of the niftarim, tragic historic parallels, conversations with eyewitnesses and survivors, as well as the sentiments of prominent Rabbonim who urge us to strengthen ourselves with emunah and bitachon in the aftermath of such unthinkable tragedy—while at the same time looking inward in an effort to take this message to heart.

A brilliant headline on the cover asks “Moh (numerical value = 45) Hashem Elokecha Sho’eil Mei’imoch, what is Hashem asking of us?”

Among other articles, this masterpiece features; “four times Shema Yisroel, an interview with the Zutchka Rebbe who hovered between two worlds, filled with chizuk and emunah; “I beg of You, Hashem, don’t take away my emunah: a visit with a father who lost two precious children; A harrowing tale of survival; “Shabbos in Meron in the shadow of tragedy; vignettes in the presence of the Toldos Aaron Rebbe in the moments after the tragedy; Lag Ba’omer events in various courts in the aftermath of the unthinkable; a focus on the beautiful souls that we have lost… and so much more threads of chizuk and emunah during the darkest of times, interwoven throughout the Shrift.  

As a senior staffer at the magazine observed: “Being tasked with disseminating the beauty of Klal Yisroel means rising to the occasion when one of our most joyful editions turn to turn to unthinkable tragedy…and on these occasions it is our calling to shine the light on a different shade of our inner beauty, with love and sensitivity. And that is the story of Dee Voch #570.”