Me and my great grandma Sarah, Thanksgiving 1986
The blatant and audacious antisemitism that has been all over all social media streams and the news this month has affected me in such a visceral way. As a Jewish woman raising Jewish daughters, the decimation of women's bodily autonomy and rising voices of Jewish hate in our country are intersecting in a very scary and intense way right now.
The counter the overwhelm, I've been looking inwards and outwards.
Looking inwards, I am connecting to my own family's past and calling upon my ancestors for strength. While it is a hard time to be a Jew, I know my foremothers have lived through much harder times to be a Jew, and thrived regardless. The picture above is me and my great grandmother Sarah, who immigrated from Minsk to Manhattan in 1907 fleeing targeted attacks and murders of Jewish people. Her Dad immigrated to the US first, and then Sarah joined him when she was only 10 years old, traveling without her parents on a ship all the way across the Atlantic to escape the pograms of the Russian empire.
As a child hearing this story, I was in awe of the bravery of my great grandmother making that journey all by herself as a child, enthralled by the adventure of it. Now as a parent reflecting on that story, I can't even imagine the desperate fear her Mother (my great great grandmother) must have felt as she sent her 10 year old daughter on a long dangerous journey to a foreign country by herself to protect her from the brutal antisemitic realities of her home.
Looking outwards, I've been "looking for the helpers", connecting with my current day Jewish community both in person and virtually, and trying to focus my attention to the beautiful Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, or healing the world. Part of being Jews is to work to repair the world seeding peace, tolerance, and charity. One reason I love my professional work is that I feel like I am practicing tikkun olam every day in my practice. Helping bring peace and calm and physical healing to families in their most vulnerable time. Being here to listen and support as we all navigate through this wild world side by side. Helping babies start their lives thriving. These little gestures add up and are part of my little offering to help repair the world.
Collectively, we cannot ignore the antisemitism as it boils up around us. But we can all do our own little work to repair the world and balance this hatred. I choose to counter it with love and pride in my ancestors and the community that their strength and resilience created.