Remembering

A lot of Facebook posts started by reminding people that today is Yom Hashoah, a day to remember. In those words and the subsequent lists of murders and atrocities, an underlying concern seems to emerge: Holocaust survivors and eyewitnesses are dying, and we feel a heavy obligation to hold onto memory and make it our own.

Unlike Passover, which was so long ago that it has truly become a story open to interpretation, the Holocaust is still relatively recent, the harm done still very tangible, and it feels right to stick closer the hard facts. At the same time, we today are blessed with much fortune and find ourselves in a very different situation. So what are the lessons of such brutal suffering today? The answers are very charged, and their implications highly politicized. The mixture can be heavy handed; it's hard to hit an authentic note.

Popchassid posted photos that tried to alter that narrative http://popchassid.com/photos-holocaust-narrative/ in a way that was respectful and thought provoking.

Here are three manifestations of remembering that I find surprising and for which I'm grateful:

1. At lunch today, a friend told me about  her experience with two teachers in the countryside of Utah who had decided to do a unit with their students about the Shoah. She explained that they had little context and wanted to relate through the lens of a religious Christian rescuer. They also knew little about Judaism; when she visited the class, the students' first question was whether Jews believed in Jesus (as a wise man and reformer but not a god, she responded). But she was astounded by the teachers' curiosity, by how much her invitation to Shabbat dinner meant to them, by their interest in learning more and teaching their own children. That interest by others who are not Jewish and have no personal or collective history tied up in the Holocaust is amazing.

2. I'm hopeful about changes in Germany today, not because I think popular option is so vastly more enlightened, but because some people in the subsequent generations really do "get it" and care deeply about creating a better Germany and society, and they are spending much of their life on doing so. They include the friend who teaches people how to effectively counter neo-Nazis, others who work in government, others who write. It's not extraordinary that there are foolish, racist, antisemitic people (sadly), but it is extraordinary that there is such a robust cadre dedicated to a better way and willing to stand up tall and loud for that.

3. And finally, today at JDC our Yom Hashoah commemoration was dedicated to the incredible creative acts that survivors, aka victors, accomplished in the aftermath of the Shoah. That resilience, ability to build on, and incredible creative and generous impulse that inspired so many is the most inspirational of all.