VE DAY AND THE CALL TO BE HOLY

This week, we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day—Victory in Europe Day, May 8, 1945—coinciding on this Shabbat with the reading of Acharei Mot and Kedoshim, two Torah portions deeply concerned with moral reckoning and the pursuit of holiness. As we reflect on both, the connections are profound.

In his historic radio broadcast on VE Day, Winston Churchill declared: “Finally, almost the whole world was combined against the evildoers, who are now prostrate before us.” The Nazi regime, whose ideology was built on hatred, cruelty, and the rejection of human dignity, had been defeated. Yet Churchill also warned that this was not an end, but a new beginning: “We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing; but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead.”

This sense of moral vigilance echoes the Torah’s message. In Acharei Mot, we read of the Yom Kippur service—an annual reckoning, a communal cleansing that demands humility and reflection. It reminds us that justice is not automatic, and holiness requires continuous effort.

Kedoshim brings the call to action: “You shall be holy, for I, the L-d your G-d, am holy.” It is a blueprint for ethical living—commanding us to care for the poor, treat workers fairly, honour our parents, and love our neighbour as ourselves. The Torah does not imagine holiness as something abstract or reserved for the elite—it is meant to be enacted by all in daily life.

Eighty years ago, the world glimpsed the consequences of abandoning these values. For the Jewish people, VE Day did not erase the trauma of the Holocaust, but it did mark the first step toward return—to life, to rebuilding, and to reaffirming our mission as a people of conscience. And three years later, the State of Israel was founded, offering a haven for thousands of survivors of war.

Churchill’s acknowledgment that evil had been brought low was not a conclusion but a challenge: to build a world where it cannot rise again. The Torah gives us the response to that challenge. Holiness, justice, and compassion are the tools with which we secure peace—not only on battlefields, but in homes, communities, and hearts.

May this anniversary not only remind us of liberation but rededicate us to the sacred work of making the world more just—and more holy.

Dayan Ivan Binstock