Holocaust, the Fourth Generation

I hope that you come to me
And tell me that you learned the word chronological
And that you put all the books on your book shelf in chronological order
And I hope that the diary of Anne Frank
Ends up ordered out of history between the dinosaur books and the caveman books…
I hope that you yell at me
and that you run to mommy, “Mommy, Daddy’s lying to me”….

I will patiently answer your “How?” and your eventual tearful “Why?”
You will bear witness, but I hope you resist
I hope that the world you live in is one that makes believing in the Shoah more difficult than believing in God….

The above poem is by Andrew Lustig, author and producer of the video “I am Jewish”.

Speaking about his video to the Times of Israel, he said:

Basically, I really hope that one day remembrance, regarding the Holocaust, can mean something different. I hope that my children can live in a world where they are so accepted and appreciated for who they are that the idea that anyone would hate them for it would be as unbelievable, at first, as if I told a child today that years ago people were hated and killed because they had hazel eyes, or dirty blond hair.

What It Means To Be A Jew

…. I am an IDF sweatshirt and the chai around your neck.  I am a $100 challah cover that you will never use and the five shekel piece of red string you will wear until it withers away.   I am your Hebrew name. I am your Israeli cousins.  I am your  Torah portion and your 13 candles. I am your Bat Mitzvah dress and the cute Israeli soldier on your Birthright trip.  I am 18 when I discover that Israel is not actually a garden of Eden of milk and honey where Jews of all backgrounds, ethnicities and styles of worship come together, eternally happy and appreciative to do a constant hora in the streets of the Holy Land.  I am still confident that it will be….  (author: Andrew Lustig )