Reflections on the Election, Krystallnacht, and Veterans Day

 Dear Friends and Family,


I have been privileged to be able to lead a number of sessions recently about the election, Krystallnacht, which occurred Nov. 9 and 10, 1938 (the night of broken glass that many feel is the event that began the Holocaust), recent events in Amsterdam, and Veterans Day.

I quoted the following poem which I hope inspires you in the way it inspires me.  I thought it was an anonymous poem but recently found the name of the author in this version.  (See below)

As we think about the strong feelings that people have about the recent election, the recent violence in Amsterdam, recall the horrors of those nights in Germany 86 years ago, and remember and honor all those who serve in the military, this poem speaks to something we all can do.

We live in a world with deep division and much tension.  A friend recently illustrated this with a grammatical joke. What do you call it when the past and present walk into a bar?

Tense

We live with tension and could continue to be saddened by all our differences and the violence  which surrounds us.

However I believe that in order to make significant change in our world, we must build bridges and create understanding.  My close friends and family tell me I am naive and that as John Lennon sings in "Imagine" (you can look up the lyrics)  that I am a dreamer.  But I hope I am not the only one.

Finally, let me end this article with another joke that illustrates my hope for our future.

What did one hat say to another?  You go on a head (ahead).

We must go on ahead together and find places for mutual understanding so that we can create bridges to a more peaceful world. As we honor our Veterans who fought for our safety and freedom, may we find ways to have conversations with each other and do what we can to create a safer and more peaceful world.

Shalom, salaam, peace,

Rabbi Bruce Aft

The Bridge Builder

An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide.
Through which was flowing a sullen tide
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build this bridge at evening tide?”

The builder lifted his old gray head;
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followed after me to-day
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”

Source: Father: An Anthology of Verse (EP Dutton & Company, 1931)

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