By Erin Feese/YourHub.com What does six million look like? It is a number that reflects the magnitude and horror of the Holocaust. A number that a Denver rabbi is hoping to illustrate with pennies. After reading about the
six million paper clips that students collected in a small town in Tennessee, Rabbi
Yisroel Engel was inspired to initiate a similar project to educate children about the Holocaust. The goal, he said, is to collect six million pennies by getting the community involved. Schools throughout the metro area, such as Lakewood's Vivian Elementary, and businesses have stepped up to collect pennies. Support has come in from organizations in other states as well, Engel said. "We want to have a display of the six million pennies in its entirety to give a feel for what it means to have six million Jews killed in the Holocaust," he said. The project was started in September of 2006 and will continue through April or May. When Engel visits classrooms to speak with students, the message he tries to impart on the students is that a little light displaces a lot of darkness. "I tell them, 'Every act of kindness - no matter how small - makes the world better,'' he said. When Engel talks to children about the Holocaust, they often react with shock and disbelief that such an evil thing could of happened, Engel said. However, they pick up on the message of spreading kindness. Engel, a champion of hands-on learning for children, said the connection students make by actually doing something makes the lesson all the more powerful. "By bringing in pennies and seeing how they grow, that what makes this project so beautiful," Engel said. After the pennies are displayed, the funds will go toward purchasing a Torah for Engel's synagogue, Bais Menachem. Engel, who is originally from Canada, moved to Denver in 1982 and became Bais Menachem's rabbi in 2000. The Torah, a handwritten scroll used during Jewish services, will serve as a permanent living display to commemorate the memory of the six million, Engel said. |