‘Basi Legani’ Garden Unveiled at Chabad of Bakersfield

By COLlive reporter
Photos: Henry Barrios, Leah Shifrin

In an inspiring and emotional event, a new ‘Basi Legani’ garden was opened at Chabad of Bakersfield in California on Sunday.

The lush new garden is a place for reflection about G-d, says Shliach in Bakersfield Rabbi Shmuli Schlanger. The centerpiece of the garden are a display of 6 million buttons, in remembrance of the six million Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazis in the Holocaust.

The garden is called the ‘Basi Legani’ garden, based on the Rebbe’s view of the world, explains Rabbi Schlanger. “The garden represents our Shlichus in this world, to have a positive impact on everyone we meet – Jewish and non-Jewish – and refine our surroundings to become a garden, not a jungle, and to ultimately prepare the world for Moshiach.”

Visitors to the garden will learn about doing good deeds to refine the world, as well as the Sheva Mitzvos for all mankind, Schlanger says. They will also learn about the Rebbe’s call to institute a Moment of Silence in public schools.

The garden is the result of over a decade of planning and community work, including the collection and counting of six million buttons. Each button—different in size, shape, and color—represents an individual life lost during the Holocaust—a father, a mother; a daughter, a son; a tailor, a writer; a student, a teacher.

Together, the buttons, displayed in a wall along a serene pathway outside the Chabad of Bakersfield, make tangible in some way the magnitude of loss during the Nazi era.

“This representation will offer students and surrounding communities a unique opportunity to remember those lost while better understanding the history of the Holocaust, Jewish identity, and the resiliance of the Jewish people,” says Shlucha Esther Malka Schlanger. “The memorial will also stand as a potent reminder of what is at stake in countering prejudice and persecution, hopefully inspiring us all to do and be better.”

As the first site of such education and remembrance in the Central Valley, the memorial was envisioned in 2012 by the California Holocaust Education and Research Center, founded by Cynthia Fisher and Thomas Simonian of Tulare, California. The Chabad of Bakersfield adopted and funded that vision in 2020. So many people of so many backgrounds and faiths contributed to its realization. The donated buttons were organized and counted by volunteers from local congregations and schools, including students, as well as women’s button groups from throughout the United States and Israel. In the future, this space will continue to bring people together by hosting Holocaust educators and their students; organized lectures and workshops related to these histories; as well as any interested individuals from or visiting the area, with the memorial open to the public.

At the unveiling, speakers included the Mayor of Bakersfield Karen Goh, Mr. Ted Pierce and Joe Alexander, a 100-year-old Holocaust survivor, who survived 12 concentration camps.

Alexander shared his story of inspiration, faith, and perseverance, while offering a message in keeping with the intent of the memorial: We must all remember and remain vigilant against prejudice in all forms, perhaps now more than ever.

To assist Rabbi Shmuli and Esther Malka Schlanger of Chabad of Bakersfield in their dedicated work, visit charidy.com/chabadBakersfield