How can I respond in a way that takes into account the Holocaust in all of its horror, both the horror of the atrocious event itself and the horror of knowing that humanity could allow something like it to take place?

How do I approach the subject, as a modern day Israeli who feels immense sadness and helplessness in the face of the racism in my society, of the ongoing occupation of the Palestinian people, and of the perpetual fear that many in this country live with and suffer from on a daily basis? The Shoa is very much alive here. A large percentage of the Jewish population in Israel consists of second or third generation holocaust survivors, and the psychological impact of the Shoa therefore affects Israeli society both on a personal and on a national level.

It is with these questions in mind that I write my response to Rabbi Greenberg’s article, only a few days before Holocaust Memorial day here in Israel. This topic is overwhelming to the regular psyche and world of emotions. What can be done with such a trauma, a trauma so massive, ongoing, blind, and of such unimaginable aggression? It is impossible to hold it all in its entirety; nor do we want to because it is so terrible, so scary.

I am inspired by Rabbi Greenberg’s efforts to address the Holocaust head-on, for his attempt to make sense of it for himself, for his generation, and for future generations, and his efforts—initially as a survival measure—to prevent another disaster from happening to the Jewish People, growing into a phase of a will to redeem humanity at large and religion at large after this terrible, terrible chapter. Read more here.