jewish history is not the holocaust
it is not the thousands of years of galus
of wandering exile, of remorse and disgrace.
it is not the inquisition, it is not the transition
from being golden kings of judah and yisrael to hidden scholars in babylon
from purveyors to seekers, from scholars to archaeologists.
it is not the story of revolts and submissions
of conversions and revelations,
of family secrets and underground bunkers.
jewish history is not the history of war
it is not the history of reclamation
it’s not the history of separation or desperation
and don’t you dare tell me it is a history in the middle of its final chapter.
“what do you have left then?” they ask, honest and curious
it’s a very good question. sometimes i don’t know.
(sometimes, though, when the light enters the sanctuary from the right angle
so early in the morning that my eyes are heavy and the words
modeh ani are thick on my lips, sometime i am filled
with the generations of people who have uttered these prayers before
who will say them again when i have returned to dust,
who will find in them old and new meaning, who will remember me
for the stories i passed down, for the blood i kept alive,
and i remember what my grandfather told me before he died:
jewish history is the promise of thousands of stars that was given to avraham.
everything else is a consequence.)
- two-zuzim.tumblr.com
feigeleh 