This week we had over 3 inches of rain in 48 hours. This is called an “atmospheric river.” I always find this term poetic, but when I heard it in the forecast this time, I thought “how fitting…there’s an atmospheric river outside to match the one inside.”
Something I’ve been thinking about a lot these last couple of months is the stories that we’ve been told, the stories of our ancestors, the stories we write ourselves. In moments of great polarity (especially in the age of social media), I think what’s often missed is that these stories assumed and circulated are from a very specific coalescence of individual experiences, popular perspectives, convenient interpretations. So much so, that if we are not careful to assess the stories- we are most certainly getting just one side of them. I think of stories like Wicked, the Broadway sensation that’s been live for two decades- which shows a very different perspective of the villain in The Wizard of Oz than the one where Dorothy is centered. I think of the soldier in All the Light we Cannot See and how his vulnerability mixed with manipulation of his talents put him in a Nazi uniform. I even think of my own self many years ago now, discussing terrorism with a friend when she calmly said to me, “who gets to decide who is a terrorist?”
Two days ago when I was in the shower (sidenote: does anyone else have the most profound thoughts either while walking in the woods or when water is pounding the head?) the words “if you want to change the world, read a story you think you know well in another person’s voice” came to my head.
There are a lot of things that are confusing, conflating, terrifying, disappointing, revealing during times of amped up tensions. I’ve seen some of the worst violence in words from strangers attacking strangers on the internet. I keep wondering how, if people who don’t know each-other can be so hateful, totalitarian, and violent with screens between them.. How do we in good faith believe there will be a reality where people who are directly impacted, traumatized, and live beside each other are going to engage productively and with repair with one another? There seems to be a glaring polarization, interest in furthering violence in a multitude of ways, and a scarcity of interest in transformative justice. There is a huge lack in any space for people to- however imperfectly and clumsily- find common ground.
To me, it seems obvious that bombarding millions of people, starving and displacing and murdering people is bad. Full stop. I fully believe that we as human beings are capable of finding better ways to create a future. We *must* be capable of finding better ways. To me, part of this involves confronting uncomfortable truths, creating safe spaces for dialogue and being willing to hear a story we may think we know very well in someone else’s voice.
Chanukah is very much about the telling and retelling of stories. Most Jewish holidays are. On Chanukah we remember ancient Israel during a time when an empire was occupying and persecuting Jewish people for living with our Jewish traditions and faith. These days, it’s tradition to light the menorah, to remember the miracle of a small amount of oil lasting 8 days and nights, and the ability to fight the oppressor in order to survive. These days, it’s tradition to sing a song recounting the many other empires throughout our ancient history who have attempted to destroy us and failed.
It’s harrowing to celebrate Chanukah during a time when the same land we remember from our own miracle of survival, is amidst a different version of bloodshed and violence. When Gaza is under siege, incessant bombing, unconscionable death and destruction, and the Israeli military is the one that’s at the helm.
Aside from bearing witness to the stories of the dwindling survivors on the ground in Gaza, aside from calling our reps and demanding a ceasefire, aside from ensuring that mass murder and genocide is never allowed to be justified in any way- but certainly not in our names, aside from demanding our individual and collective ability to hold the humanity for every single life that’s been murdered, raped, kidnapped, injured, displaced, indoctrinated by extremism, misguided by trauma… it’s critical to look to our own histories and to find the stories that were told alongside the ones we think we know so well. To understand that some heroes are other people’s villains. To understand that liberation for some can create harm for others. This is painful work from any angle. Because there is so much pain and trauma and grief intertwined from every angle. But the only way we can support a future of surviving and thriving is to step beyond the comfort zone, to know our own trauma enough to refuse to participate in a zero-sum trap. To dare to hold multiple truths and insist on breaking cycles of violence. To insist on creating a better future. To know with our actions and our love that every single person is a whole world deserving of life.
May we ignite unseen and unheard stories with the lighting of each light this Chanukah. May truth illuminate from neglected angles. May our prayers for mutual liberation and justice and peace and LIFE be answered through our actions and our love. May the miracles of old persist in our days now.
Thank you max for your profound words. I greatly appreciate your insights and for helping me see things in a new light and perspective. As I get older, I learn that the stories I was told as a child about so many things were flat out wrong and one sided. So thank you for helping to guide me in my new journey of unlearning.