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When you meet a Nazi at a gas station
“I’ve got a Nazi Iron Cross tattooed on my chest.”
We were chatting with a stranger across an unmanned gas pump, along an isolated road in rural east Texas. He had asked us, conversationally, what church we attended. This is a common conversation starter in this part of the world and did not surprise us. We’re Jewish so we attend synagogue, we replied, equally casually. That was when he told us that he had a swastika on his chest. He said it matter-of-factly, but there was a challenge in his eyes.
[Redirects to the Times of Israel]
How Should We Memorialize the Holocaust?
The Holocaust is in danger of being remembered as just another historical atrocity inflicted on the Jewish people. Traditionally, Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Remembrance Day—has been a time to listen to survivors. Soon, we will no longer be able to sit and listen to them...
Coexist is not enough
Our holy books do not tell us to “tolerate the stranger.” They tell us to love them. [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
When you meet a Nazi at a gas station
“I’ve got a Nazi Iron Cross tattooed on my chest.”
We were chatting with a stranger across an unmanned gas pump, along an isolated road in rural east Texas. He had asked us, conversationally, what church we attended. This is a common conversation starter in this part of the world and did not surprise us. We’re Jewish so we attend synagogue, we replied, equally casually. That was when he told us that he had a swastika on his chest. He said it matter-of-factly, but there was a challenge in his eyes.
[Redirects to the Times of Israel]
How Should We Memorialize the Holocaust?
The Holocaust is in danger of being remembered as just another historical atrocity inflicted on the Jewish people. Traditionally, Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Remembrance Day—has been a time to listen to survivors. Soon, we will no longer be able to sit and listen to them...
Coexist is not enough
Our holy books do not tell us to “tolerate the stranger.” They tell us to love them. [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
On the meaning of liberation, for the 75th anniversary of V-E day
Seventy-five years ago, death camps and labor camps were liberated one by one as the Allies marched across Europe. On May 8, 1945, the armed forces of Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies. The Jews of Europe as a people were liberated, freed from their slavery and oppression. Free to emerge from hiding; free from the threat of arrest and murder; free to be Jews again. What does it mean to be liberated? [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
How will we remember the Holocaust when there are no survivors left? Ritual.
Today, another Holocaust survivor passed away. I do not know their name – perhaps you do. Unlike their families who were torn from them before their time, some of these people are dying of natural causes, and others, sadly, of COVID-19. We should not be surprised by this. The Holocaust ended 75 years ago. The youngest survivors are in their 80s.
Hate has no community
We cannot allow terrorists to lay claim to the values of our communities. Once again, a terrorist has come into a place of peace and used community as a cover to commit an act of evil. In this case, he claimed to be working for the advancement of the white, Christian community. [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
Changing the narrative on slavery in America
If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that the story of slavery in America is often told by the perpetrators. Isn’t it time we started to listen to the voices of the victims? [redirects to the Times of Israel]
Pulling the Arc of the Moral Universe Toward Justice
How is it possible that we are still fighting racism, sexism, and antisemitism in this country? We thought we were the most forward-looking country in the world, a light unto the nations. We thought we had evolved beyond such destructive tribalism. We thought we could see the arc of the moral universe bending toward justice before our eyes.[1] We just had to sit back and let it happen.
That was our mistake. Bending toward justice does not happen when we sit back and watch. Even treading water requires effort and vigilance. [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
Yom HaShoah in a time of social distancing
Can we still commemorate the Holocaust on Yom HaShoah in a time of social distancing? Yes! Our new service, Light from the Darkness, allows us to honor the survivors’ memories and to learn from their experiences with a ritual of remembrance that can be performed in our homes. [redirects to the Times of Israel]
Baby steps: Changing narratives about Jews in Spain
I never really understood Chanukah until I went to Spain. Standing in a church that had been a synagogue until the Jews were all either expelled or murdered, looking at the crucifix hanging where the ark had been, I understood the Maccabees in a whole new way. [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
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