Wandering between worlds

An ancient struggle

What a devastating and very very sad time. I grieve for all of the innocent lives brutally taken and terrorized. I'm afraid of what will happen next. I find it hard to put into words what it feels like to be Jewish this week. I also find it impossible to be on social media, seeing one intense infographic after another lacking any nuance that could possibly begin to capture the complexity and depth of this situation. A good friend shared this and it really resonated:

Part of me feels that all Jews that are alive right now know that on some level it is luck. Someone got out of somewhere. When we look at all of these innocent people murdered we all know so deeply it could just as easily be one of us.

Because this is an ancient struggle. The generational trauma that’s been triggered for Jews, for Israelis, for Palestinians, for everyone, is difficult to comprehend, to hold space for, and even more difficult to imagine the ripple effect for years to come. It's like wandering between worlds— dystopian.

Last night walking around my neighborhood, the smell of Hebrew School pizza wafted into my nostrils and I started to cry. I can’t remember the last time I smelled that smell. For those unfamiliar, it’s kind of like pizza, but a little greasier, a little soggier, and smells a little like temple. I don’t know how else to describe it.

What I do know is that if you too are resonating or reckoning with your own feelings of heartache or grief or anger or confusion, please comment or reach out or share. Read good content written by thoughtful people. Get out of your house and take a walk. Call your loved ones and tell them you love them. Be gentle with yourself and with others.