Nazi Germany Survivor, 102, Dances Joyfully on Simchat Torah in Jerusalem

Walter Bingham, who will soon celebrate his 103rd birthday, experienced Simchat Torah in Jerusalem this year, dancing with a child a century his junior. Bingham, a Holocaust survivor who fled Nazi Germany as a teenager, recalled how the holiday was celebrated in secret during the 1930s due to fear of the rising Nazi regime. He described the profound joy and unity he felt at the Chabad synagogue in Jerusalem's Rehavia neighborhood, a stark contrast to his childhood memories.

Bingham, a veteran of the Normandy invasion and a former soldier in the British army, participated in the "Kol HaNearim" (All the Youths) aliyah, standing under the tallit with dozens of children. He shared his frustration that the Nazis prevented him from experiencing Simchat Torah openly in his youth, noting that his father was murdered by the Nazis in 1941. He expressed deep satisfaction at being able to celebrate so openly in Israel nearly 90 years later.

The article highlights the significance of this year's Simchat Torah, occurring three years after the October 7th massacre, which the author likens to the horrors of the Holocaust. Bingham's experience, bridging his past trauma with present-day joy in Jerusalem, provided a powerful perspective on Jewish resilience. The author reflected on the Passover Haggadah's words, "And this is the thing that has sustained our forefathers and us," finding them particularly poignant in this context.