News from Middle Tennessee's Jewish Community |
Friday, Nov. 22, 2024
By Michael Whitney, Barbara Moss, and Harry Perret
Sometimes you have to smile. With all the misery piling up from day to day in the ongoing Ukraine saga, there was one light moment. A newscaster in India was interviewing two guests about the crisis. One was an American analyst, the other an editor from a Kiev newspaper. The two guests were broadcasting from different locations and were represented by their own window on the screen. They were identified by the name on their respective windows. The American - as identified by his name - was talking nonstop. This irritated the newscaster who really wanted to hear from the man in Kiev. When the American ignored him, the newscaster challenged him, including by insulting him, and his presumed association with Western ‘colonial’ policy over many decades and centuries. But the American just carried on talking.
Imagine that the Shtetl of Europe has been frozen in time, transported to New York, and then unfrozen. Imagine walking down the main street and seeing the Judaica shops, hearing the sounds of yeshiva students studying Talmud, smelling the aromas of the freshly baked Challah wafting from the local kosher bakeries, while seeing sings in Hebrew and Yiddush and shuls on every corner, while the skyscrapers of Manhattan rise in the distance.
Shortly after the end of World War II, Holocaust survivors began using the term, “Never Again” as a rallying cry to bring world attention to the unprecedented horror they had witnessed, and against all odds, survived. The phrase continues to be used both particularly by the Jews to demand that the world never again be silent to attempts of genocide against the Jewish people, and universally to demand the end of such barbarism against any group. Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and author who came to be associated with the phrase, used it in the universal sense. “Never again becomes more than a slogan: It’s a prayer, a promise, a vow…never again the glorification of base, ugly, dark violence.”
Nashville’s Jewish community, in partnership with The Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, and Jewish Family Service of Middle Tennessee, is bringing together dozens of volunteers to aid and support Afghan ally families arriving in Middle Tennessee. According to Nashville International Center for Empowerment (NICE), more than 50,000 people have been forced to flee from Afghanistan, with several hundred arriving in Nashville. To help with needs ranging from housing and other basic necessities, to obtaining a driver’s license, finding a job, and enrolling children in school, three teams of volunteers participated in extensive trainings offered by NICE. Volunteers learned about Afghan culture, as well as learning how best to help people navigate the various relief systems, and how to deal with people who suffer from trauma. Coordinating the efforts for The Jewish Federation is Michal Becker, Engagement Director for The Federation. “This has been a tremendous effort by so many people,” she says, “The volunteers are so excited to be able to get to know the families and to help them in such important ways.”
To address the need for volunteers during the crisis, JFNA is creating an online hub. Through a centralized application process, volunteers from North America will be placed with Jewish and Israeli partner organizations working on the ground. JFNA is recruiting qualified applicants through the Russian-speaking Jewish (RSJ) network to volunteer for two to four weeks, beginning in April, to help refugees on the Ukrainian borders and at “olim hotels.” In particular, JFNA is seeking those with a mental health background. Volunteers will receive insurance coverage, local accommodations, meals, local transport, and a modest end-of-service bonus. The application form can be found at: https://www.tfaforms.com/4972390
Wow, who would have ever imagined this, we are just about to mark the second Yahrzeit of Covid19. (Unfortunately, it is still very much here... but you know what I mean). So, here's my eulogy, two years later.
Writers of the Lost Ark is made up of Temple members who love to write poems, prose, songs and stories. The group meets once a month to discuss works in progress and get feedback, creative encouragement and new ideas to write about. Members also share things online during the month and are very interactive with each other between meetings. And yes, Writers of the Lost Ark is a play on “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” only this is The Temple’s version!
