Wandering Jew

Hanukkah this year presents challenges to many Jews. The one I want to discuss involves those who want to hide menorahs. Avoid standing out. A menorah is specifically supposed to be lit and seen in the public sphere. The lights are supposed to shine proudly.

There is the iconic photograph of the Posner family from Kiel, Germany — the menorah in the window overlooking a Nazi flag. https://www.yadvashem.org/artifacts/museum/prewar-hanukkah-menorah-kiel.html

There are those in the United States, who are afraid of being Jewish outwardly. To those people I would say, “This is the easiest it will ever be. If you think it is hard now, if you were afraid of the consequences now, think of what will happen down the road.“

I started today in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There, in the main square, I saw this.

I thought a lot about hiding Jewishness yesterday and today in the American Southwest. In a previous post, I spoke about Cryptojews. In poking around a bit today, I began to consider some of the stories stories of some individuals who became conscious of their Jewish roots, and embraced them. And others, including family members of those individuals who preferred to hide what they knew about the past. It is hard for me not to make a connection between this remote past (still manifested in the descendants) and Jews in the present who are choosing to hide. At the risk of making a joke, perhaps a very bad taste, obviously, the stakes are very different between today’s environment and the Spanish Inquisition. However, as I commented above, it won’t get easier to be openly Jewish.

A former colleague of mine retired to Taos. He has openly begun wearing his Star of David since October 7. Taos is a rather liberal community and all in all he feels safe although in the back of his mind there is some trepidation. that inadvertently, he became nervous during a community Hanukkah party, although nothing happened.

We all, both Jews and non-Jews, must make choices now. We must decide whether Jewish identity is something to be hidden, or something to display in plain sight. Non-Jews decide to be supportive.

The lessons of Hanukkah are clear.

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments to this post.