Debra Darvick
enhance your now in word and imageJ-E-W
Why “J-E-W?”
Because it’s time to reclaim the word that defines my co-religionists and me. The derogation and hatred embedded in the word “Jew” is so deep and so old that we Jews, more often than not, self-identify as Jewish not Jew. In naming this page J-E-W, I reclaim the word even as it discomfits me. The dashes signal that space for reclamation. The dashes signal to every Jew that the spaces are ours to fill, ours to define. It is for us to imbue the word with all that Jews strive for, and were commanded to be, since Moses stood on Mount Sinai.
In Memory of Clara. Once Again.
Today is Yom HaShoah, the day comemorating the Holocaust. I am reprising an essay from 2016 in memory of Clara Eisenstein who was, and remains, a blessing in my life.
What is the linguistic difference between the words Holocaust and Shoah? The latter refers to an occurrence of utter calamity, the laying waste of and complete desolation of the Jews. Holocaust, on the other hand, derives from the Greek referring to a burnt sacrifice offered to a god. The Nazis’ intent was not a religious offering but the complete and utter destruction of all Jewish life. While the difference is indeed profound outside of Israel Holocaust is the more common usage outside of Israel.
photo courtesy of the Vermont Holocaust Museum.