There is a critical passage in the Haggadah that clearly states that whenever we walk away from our identity anti Semitism rears its head and reminds us of who we are and what we should be as individuals and as a people
Thanks for sharing that. Our points are made in very different ways but I think they are highly resonant. Interesting connection she raises to Allport, which is interesting to me as a psychologist.
Describing behaviour allows classifying and prediction, but does explain motivation and behaviour. Abraham started Judaism with the fundamental concept of the SANCTITY of HUMAN LIFE, i.e. no more sacrificing your male children life. No more conquest and dominance, Love your neighbour. This new concept and attitude allows newfound freedom to explore, create, share and contribute, new Jewish values and concepts. Other cultures mostly vie for conquest, dominance, submission and enslavement. i.e. no thinking for oneself. Competition, the glory of winning is still very rife in Homo Sapiens.
Your comment reminded me of this essay I read recently on the disappearance of Archaic Sapiens, which appears to have been timed with their encounter with "baby-faced" Homo Sapiens.
NEVER AGAIN MEANS GET TO ISRAEL IF IT IS POSSIBLE. IT MEANS NEVER FORGET OUR PAST BECAUSE IT WRITES OUR FUTURE. BE GOOD PEOPLE, REMEMBER AND TELL ABOUT THE PAST AND BE PROUD. IT IS NOT A SLOGAN, BUT A WAY OF BEING. TZIPPORAH BAT AMI, COAUTHOR OF CHILD HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR ALICE MULLERS BOOK "MY NAME IS ALICE" WHICH SAYS IT MUCH BETTER THAN I EVER CAN.
Funny you should say that. Today, I walked peacefully with 56,000 people in support of Israel in Toronto. Even with megaphones blaring, the haters with their faces covered were no match for the confidence and pride of our people and our allies in the community. We are not running anywhere, but nor are we under the illusion that just saying Never again! will protect us.
Love this "...the future of Jewish is a return to creative adaptation, to showing the contemporary Jew-haters of the world the unintended second- and third-order effects that Jew-hatred causes: an explosion of Jewish flourishing" (and I would add, Jewish unity). This has a downside, to be sure. We're going to D.C. in August and was planning to visit the Holocaust Museum there. Now, I don't think I will go. And btw it bothers me that the Jewish Museum didn't have solid, adequate private security. When my kids were in yeshiva a couple of decades ago, any time anything was happening in the news, security was increased. Is this another symptom of the level of complacency to which we have fallen, as well? It's time to wake up and realize that history has resumed.
In 2002, I went to Washington D.C. to serve on an NIH grant review committee and it was the time when John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo were on a killing spree. The last victim was shot the day I headed back. I recall arriving at my hotel. People were saying to get inside, but back then I was a smoker, so I calmly had a cigarette and then went inside. Malvo had fallen under Muhammad's influence and Muhammad had been seduced by the Nation of Islam. 23 years later, here we are--again, but this time with a shooter aiming at people who would dare go to a Jewish museum. If I were in D.C., I would definitely go to see the Holocaust Museum. In fact, I would be compelled to go in light of what happened. Yes, there is a risk, but there is risk to everything. When I woke up last Sunday, I had to decide whether to take my family to the Walk for Israel here in Toronto. Would it turn violent? In the end, I went and it was one of the best days of the year. I would have regretted not going. And, you know what? I never went on the Walk until after Oct 7. There's the Jewish unity you mentioned. It is--and must be--stronger than risk.
I just spoke to one of my brothers and I mentioned what you had said and what I replied and he said (predictably), "It's a personal decision." I can't disagree.
In 2002, I went to Washington D.C. to serve on an NIH grant review committee and it was the time when John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo were on a killing spree. The last victim was shot the day I headed back. I recall arriving at my hotel. People were saying to get inside, but back then I was a smoker, so I calmly had a cigarette and then went inside. Malvo had fallen under Muhammad's influence and Muhammad had been seduced by the Nation of Islam. 23 years later, here we are--again, but this time with a shooter aiming at people who would dare go to a Jewish museum. If I were in D.C., I would definitely go to see the Holocaust Museum. In fact, I would be compelled to go in light of what happened. Yes, there is a risk, but there is risk to everything. When I woke up last Sunday, I had to decide whether to take my family to the Walk for Israel here in Toronto. Would it turn violent? In the end, I went and it was one of the best days of the year. I would have regretted not going. And, you know what? I never went on the Walk until after Oct 7. There's the Jewish unity you mentioned. It is--and must be--stronger than risk.
I don't think that at all. I didn't say they forget what it means. I said that in the absence of the kind of overt Jew hatred the Jewish community experiences nowadays, Jews come to believe that they have finally escaped the history of their people's persecution in the present. It is a wishful thought, and not only that, up until recently, it was not obvious to even the most astute observer that it was unmerited. So, I don't blame Jews for not seeing this coming. If they refuse to see what is happening right now out of willful ignorance, that's another matter. For that, I would ascribe some blame.
What an interesting perspective. I was drawn to this post after reading the headline, which seemed at first glance, similar to my own recent post about the slogan, 'Never Again'. Sharing here should you be interested: https://substack.com/home/post/p-164185530
Thanks for sharing your post. I read it with interest and read some of your other posts. To say our perspectives differ would be accurate yet an understatement. In your post, you question what you should tell your daughter about the poor girl in Gaza. What you should tell her is the truth: that if Hamas, a brutal terrorist organization, did not commit a crime against humanity by intentionally raping, burning, slaughtering, and kidnapping Israelis, and if they didn't receive help from Arab civilians in Gaza, the majority of whom supported the attacks, then this little girl and all the children caught up in this war would have been fine. If the Gazans had used their resources to build something for themselves rather than focus on destroying Israel and killing Jews, their children could have had bright futures and could have even become friends with their Jewish neighbors. If you told her that rather than blaming the victim of Hamas aggression, you would be helping her understand the painful truth that the Arabs of the region didn't only cause Jews much suffering, they stole the lives and future of their own people. If you explained the difference between intentional killing and unintentional letting die, you would help her understand how wrong the global smear campaign against Israel has been. This is already a long comment so I will stop here, but that's really where I think you should start. Good luck, and again, thanks for sharing your post.
There is a critical passage in the Haggadah that clearly states that whenever we walk away from our identity anti Semitism rears its head and reminds us of who we are and what we should be as individuals and as a people
https://youtu.be/WkrzhhGQzuc?si=VWBJ9nUOCptbC4dn
Rebecca Bar Sef, just released a thought provoking video about the slogan Never Again. Worth watching after reading this.
Thanks for sharing that. Our points are made in very different ways but I think they are highly resonant. Interesting connection she raises to Allport, which is interesting to me as a psychologist.
Amanda, she was fabulous! Thank you for sharing
Perfect slogan. Never again is a call to action not a slogan of comfort.
Describing behaviour allows classifying and prediction, but does explain motivation and behaviour. Abraham started Judaism with the fundamental concept of the SANCTITY of HUMAN LIFE, i.e. no more sacrificing your male children life. No more conquest and dominance, Love your neighbour. This new concept and attitude allows newfound freedom to explore, create, share and contribute, new Jewish values and concepts. Other cultures mostly vie for conquest, dominance, submission and enslavement. i.e. no thinking for oneself. Competition, the glory of winning is still very rife in Homo Sapiens.
Martin Nash, M.D.
Your comment reminded me of this essay I read recently on the disappearance of Archaic Sapiens, which appears to have been timed with their encounter with "baby-faced" Homo Sapiens.
https://aeon.co/essays/why-one-branch-on-the-human-family-tree-replaced-all-the-others
NEVER AGAIN MEANS GET TO ISRAEL IF IT IS POSSIBLE. IT MEANS NEVER FORGET OUR PAST BECAUSE IT WRITES OUR FUTURE. BE GOOD PEOPLE, REMEMBER AND TELL ABOUT THE PAST AND BE PROUD. IT IS NOT A SLOGAN, BUT A WAY OF BEING. TZIPPORAH BAT AMI, COAUTHOR OF CHILD HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR ALICE MULLERS BOOK "MY NAME IS ALICE" WHICH SAYS IT MUCH BETTER THAN I EVER CAN.
Funny you should say that. Today, I walked peacefully with 56,000 people in support of Israel in Toronto. Even with megaphones blaring, the haters with their faces covered were no match for the confidence and pride of our people and our allies in the community. We are not running anywhere, but nor are we under the illusion that just saying Never again! will protect us.
Excellently said.
Love this "...the future of Jewish is a return to creative adaptation, to showing the contemporary Jew-haters of the world the unintended second- and third-order effects that Jew-hatred causes: an explosion of Jewish flourishing" (and I would add, Jewish unity). This has a downside, to be sure. We're going to D.C. in August and was planning to visit the Holocaust Museum there. Now, I don't think I will go. And btw it bothers me that the Jewish Museum didn't have solid, adequate private security. When my kids were in yeshiva a couple of decades ago, any time anything was happening in the news, security was increased. Is this another symptom of the level of complacency to which we have fallen, as well? It's time to wake up and realize that history has resumed.
In 2002, I went to Washington D.C. to serve on an NIH grant review committee and it was the time when John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo were on a killing spree. The last victim was shot the day I headed back. I recall arriving at my hotel. People were saying to get inside, but back then I was a smoker, so I calmly had a cigarette and then went inside. Malvo had fallen under Muhammad's influence and Muhammad had been seduced by the Nation of Islam. 23 years later, here we are--again, but this time with a shooter aiming at people who would dare go to a Jewish museum. If I were in D.C., I would definitely go to see the Holocaust Museum. In fact, I would be compelled to go in light of what happened. Yes, there is a risk, but there is risk to everything. When I woke up last Sunday, I had to decide whether to take my family to the Walk for Israel here in Toronto. Would it turn violent? In the end, I went and it was one of the best days of the year. I would have regretted not going. And, you know what? I never went on the Walk until after Oct 7. There's the Jewish unity you mentioned. It is--and must be--stronger than risk.
I will re-consider. Thank you for that.
I just spoke to one of my brothers and I mentioned what you had said and what I replied and he said (predictably), "It's a personal decision." I can't disagree.
We’ll see what the environment is in August. Again, thanks.
In 2002, I went to Washington D.C. to serve on an NIH grant review committee and it was the time when John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo were on a killing spree. The last victim was shot the day I headed back. I recall arriving at my hotel. People were saying to get inside, but back then I was a smoker, so I calmly had a cigarette and then went inside. Malvo had fallen under Muhammad's influence and Muhammad had been seduced by the Nation of Islam. 23 years later, here we are--again, but this time with a shooter aiming at people who would dare go to a Jewish museum. If I were in D.C., I would definitely go to see the Holocaust Museum. In fact, I would be compelled to go in light of what happened. Yes, there is a risk, but there is risk to everything. When I woke up last Sunday, I had to decide whether to take my family to the Walk for Israel here in Toronto. Would it turn violent? In the end, I went and it was one of the best days of the year. I would have regretted not going. And, you know what? I never went on the Walk until after Oct 7. There's the Jewish unity you mentioned. It is--and must be--stronger than risk.
Even as a slogan, do you really think Jews forget what it means — especially in a world with so much hate, divisiveness, and lies?
I don't think that at all. I didn't say they forget what it means. I said that in the absence of the kind of overt Jew hatred the Jewish community experiences nowadays, Jews come to believe that they have finally escaped the history of their people's persecution in the present. It is a wishful thought, and not only that, up until recently, it was not obvious to even the most astute observer that it was unmerited. So, I don't blame Jews for not seeing this coming. If they refuse to see what is happening right now out of willful ignorance, that's another matter. For that, I would ascribe some blame.
Outstanding essay, David!
Typo- “nimble” not “nibble”… sorry for the quibble.
Not at all and thank you for catching that. It was probably a Freudian slip. I suspect I was hungry while writing. I'll see if I can get that fixed.
What an interesting perspective. I was drawn to this post after reading the headline, which seemed at first glance, similar to my own recent post about the slogan, 'Never Again'. Sharing here should you be interested: https://substack.com/home/post/p-164185530
Thanks for sharing your post. I read it with interest and read some of your other posts. To say our perspectives differ would be accurate yet an understatement. In your post, you question what you should tell your daughter about the poor girl in Gaza. What you should tell her is the truth: that if Hamas, a brutal terrorist organization, did not commit a crime against humanity by intentionally raping, burning, slaughtering, and kidnapping Israelis, and if they didn't receive help from Arab civilians in Gaza, the majority of whom supported the attacks, then this little girl and all the children caught up in this war would have been fine. If the Gazans had used their resources to build something for themselves rather than focus on destroying Israel and killing Jews, their children could have had bright futures and could have even become friends with their Jewish neighbors. If you told her that rather than blaming the victim of Hamas aggression, you would be helping her understand the painful truth that the Arabs of the region didn't only cause Jews much suffering, they stole the lives and future of their own people. If you explained the difference between intentional killing and unintentional letting die, you would help her understand how wrong the global smear campaign against Israel has been. This is already a long comment so I will stop here, but that's really where I think you should start. Good luck, and again, thanks for sharing your post.