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The 28th of Av

  B"H Today is the 28th of Av .  On this day in 1942, the Nazis murdered approximately 13,000 Jews in Rostov . Among them was my great-aunt, Miriam, after whom my mother Odel Miriam, is named. And among them was my great-great-grandfather, Nachman. Nachman was a scholar, a learned man. He was also a baker. But not just any baker. He had the tremendous merit of baking for the Fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Rebbe Rashab . And on this day, the Nazis took this holy Jew into the street. They tied his beard to a rope, attached the other end to a wagon, and dragged him until his holy soul left his body. For most of my life, I never even knew this story. I only learned it about ten years ago, when I was already in my mid-forties. And yet, since learning it, it has become one of those stories that somehow anchors me. Because think about it. They murdered Nachman because he was a Jew. They were not only trying to murder a man. They were trying to murder a people. They wanted there to be n...