Notes from the River

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which, for me, is “Oh, most people don’t think about it all the time? Day”. When two of your grandparents were survivors, the Holocaust is ever-present in your life.

And no, it’s not like I wake up every morning and BAM! – GENERATIONAL TRAUMA. It’s more subtle than that.

There’s a quote from the movie, A Real Pain, “our grandma survived by a thousand miracles”. Everyday I face the world, subconsciously, and sometimes consciously, aware that I am the product of “a thousand miracles”. Because of this, I am largely optimistic by nature. But, when I’m having a shitty day and I don’t feel like there’s any point to life, I also feel immensely guilty that I’m not being optimistic; that I’m not honoring the “thousand miracles” that allow me to live a life where I CAN feel shitty when I want to. It’s kind of like multi-generational, multi-dimensional Jewish guilt. It’s Jewish guilt if you experienced it at a 4DX movie theater.

I also have the right to make as many Holocaust jokes as I want. Well, maybe not “as many”, but I certainly get away with a lot. I’m not talking about disrespectful, and macabre jokes, but rather, charming and clever jokes that play on multi-generational trauma and provide insight into our current moment in time. Like this blog post!

My family history has given me the understanding and the courage to say things like “I don’t think we should have white supremacists in the American government”, and “I don’t think you should use the genocide of the Jewish people as a impetus to perpetuate the genocide of another people”. Apparently, these statements are too radical for some people.

On a serious note, I hope that we can all use the lessons of our past, including the Holocaust, to teach us how we should act in our present.