By: Yael Toyber, SFU Student
Content warning: descriptions of the Holocaust and antisemitism.
My friends and I joke when explaining Jewish holidays to non-Jews: “We survived, and now we eat!” Reflecting on how our shared generational traumas and tumultuous history is often accompanied by our cultural cuisines and sense of humour. The Jewish story has always been one of painful endurance and survival, yet also a display of our resilience and determination to preserve our community. The portrayal of Jews in the media and popular culture, however, is often only that of bagels and lox, or other clichés. Defining aspects of our community are frequently absent or misrepresented, reducing Jewish representation to oversimplified tropes and stereotypes, such as the “Jewish American Princess,” or the passive Holocaust victim, which ignore the depth and complexity of our culture and history. From my observation, this has led to a widespread perception of Jews, which is superficial and full of misconceptions.
Judaism is different from other Abrahamic religions in that it’s not solely a religion, but rather an ethno-religion, encompassing elements of both ethnicity and religion. Ethnic elements such as our shared language, culture, and history are equally important in defining our community. These elements are what causes us to feel instantly connected when meeting another Jew, or member of the tribe, known as “Am” (עם) in Hebrew. We have suffered as a whole throughout history, subjected to ruthless attempts at forced assimilation or annihilation. This, in turn, has fostered shared traits of self determination and grit. The existence of Jews in the world today is, in fact, a miracle when seen in the light of the unrelenting attempts at our annihilation. However, this miracle is not due to fate or good fortune, but rather a result of our ancestors fighting to preserve the culture and history they held so dear.
Hanukkah, which is often perceived as “Jewish Christmas” by non-Jews, is a holiday that celebrates a Jewish story of willful self-reliance and striving for justice in the face of oppression. It tells the story of the Maccabees, who defiantly stood up to their oppressors, refusing to assimilate into ancient Greek culture despite the dominance of Hellenic influence. Not long after, Jews faced similar forms of oppression. After the Romans destroyed the Second Temple (also known as the Temple of Jerusalem) in 70 CE, they expelled the Jews from Judea. In 117 CE, Roman Emperor Hadrian allowed the Jewish people to return and rebuild their temple, but this promise was broken, and a temple to the Roman god Jupiter was erected on its ruins. This betrayal led Shimon Bar Kokhba to lead the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132 CE. In guerilla warfare fashion, Judean militias hid in caves and stole Roman weapons, revolting for a remarkable three years. Upon their defeat, the Jews were banished and “sold into slavery” throughout the Roman Empire. As punishment, Jerusalem was renamed as Aelia Capitolina and Judea renamed as Syria Palestina.
Various subsequent expulsions caused our ancestors to settle in different places around the world, in what came to be known as the diaspora. Three major sub-communities were created: Mizrahi in the Middle East and North Africa, Sephardim in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, and Ashkenazim in Europe. Our shared religious and cultural practices kept us from assimilating. As a now dispersed minority no longer together in one place, Jews were increasingly vulnerable to systemic prejudice, exploitation, and persecution. This vulnerability ultimately led to some of the darkest events in our history.
Adversaries and corrupt ideologies can take away material things, but our history and the core of our shared identity will always be ours.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day is on January 27, commemorating the Soviet liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the deadliest Nazi concentration camp. Jews however, commemorate a different day of remembrance, Yom HaShoah (יום השואה). The 27 of Nissan (May in the Gregorian calendar), marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising — a major act of rebellion against the Nazis by the young Jews residing within the Warsaw Ghetto. Ghettos were neighbourhoods within the third Reich (Nazi regime), where Jewish people were forced to live in inhumane conditions and segregated from the rest of society. To paint a picture of how difficult life was in the ghetto: several families had to share single houses, at times with over seven people sharing a room. Severe caloric deprivation coupled with unsanitary conditions led to disease spreading rapidly and dead bodies filling the streets. The ghettos were a form of Jewish population control, a bleak foreshadow to the Nazi’s eventual mass incarceration and murder at concentration camps.
By November 1940, over 400,000 Jews were crammed within the Warsaw ghetto. Mass deportations to a killing center known as Treblinka began in 1941, as part of the “final solution.” After a series of mass deportations, by the end of 1942, only 60,000 Jews remained in the ghetto, most of whom were teenagers who were orphaned by the Nazis. Those remaining within the ghetto decided to attempt to take their fate back into their own hands, no matter the consequences. They banded together and joined underground militias, such as the Jewish Fighting Organization and Jewish Military Union. When a final deportation of the ghetto’s remaining population was attempted, the rebels fought back. They defiantly resisted deportation, while being vastly outnumbered and outgunned for a month, until their eventual defeat.
Both the Bar Kokhba revolt and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising are final rebellions, led by vastly outnumbered Jews in the face of oppression. Both tell a story of Jewish self-reliance, determination, and strength; characteristics that are definitive of Jewish consciousness, experience, and culture. We choose to mourn on the day we fought to liberate ourselves, emphasizing the importance of resilience against forced assimilation and systemic discrimination, rather than a day in which we were liberated by others. Stories such as the Bar Kokhba Revolt are rarely if ever told in non-Jewish settings.
Although Jewish food, kvetching, ritual, and humour are part of our culture — being a proud Jew above all else has sustained us for millennia. To all my fellow Jews: learn about your people, history, and culture. Ask your bubbe (סבתא) about your family’s history. Most importantly, wear your Magen David. Adversaries and corrupt ideologies can take away material things, but our history and the core of our shared identity will always be ours. Nurture it and take pride in it, as your ancestors have done.
כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה
“All of Israel [the Jewish people] are responsible for one another”
“The children of Israel” or “Israel” has been used to refer to the Jewish people within the Torah, Old Testament, and Quran. Jacob, a forefather of Judaism, was given the name “Israel” by G-d, after wrestling with an angel. The meaning of “Israel” is “to struggle with G-d.” Jacob’s descendants were known as the people of “Israel,” today as the Jewish people.
