At Ganzach Kiddush Hashem one can find many items that survived the ghettos and camps and absorbed the tears of fear and loss. Among the items are rare documents, certificates, photographs, and even various sacred items. Behind each of these silent witnesses is often a miraculous story, such as the story of the shofar that rests in our collections.
The shofar belonged to a chassid by the name of Yosele Wachsman z”l, and it survived along with him until liberation. Yosele told of how he blew the shofar in order to raise the Jews’ spirits, even on pain of death, and assured them that they would hear the shofar of the messiah.
Even upon attempting to enter Israel, the shofar’s troubles did not end, as Yosele Wachsman’s illegal immigration ship was turned back by the British and sent to Cyprus. The following Rosh Hashana, the rabbi blew the shofar in the Cyprus camp for the detainees who had experienced deportation after deportation and their spirits were almost broken. For them, the shofar’s call was the sound of redemption, comfort, and hope.
Before his passing, Yosele gave the shofar to his friend, Meir Blizinsky, a Judaica and silver expert. Meir felt that this shofar, that raised the spirits of Jews in the darkest and most difficult days that our nation experienced, was too important to belong to only one individual. He felt that the shofar and its story belonged to all the Jews, and that he should donate it to the public. He thus decided to donate the shofar to Ganzach Kiddush Hashem, where it testifies to the spiritual strength and greatness of the Jewish People.
