I loved Sian's phrase of conversion as metamorphosizing the soul. In the V'Shomru prayer on Shabbat, we say שָׁבַ֖ת וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ׃ [translated as rested and was refreshed] But there is another way to understand that phrase as not allowing the body to be bound to the time demands of work so that one can be ensouled. This word--nefesh--for soul is also a verb. To infuse the soul means to give it action and Shabbat gives us the time to do it.
'Never Again is Now' is quite the documentary, especially as a Dutchman and I saw this coming as early as the 1990s. Just last Friday the kosher restaurant HaCarmel in Amsterdam was vandalized for the 7th time in the past 2.5 years.
What is both interesting and what will be deeply moving is that in September the 'Monument of Names' will be unveiled in Amsterdam, a large monument (much like the Vietnam memorial in DC) where all 102,000 murdered Jews will be honoured by name. The monument is the first one to honour each victim individually. It was not built without the expected hurdles and obstruction and part of the budget is of course allocated to ongoing security. But almost eighty years later it is there and it will hopefully solidify that the Dutch once had a huge and thriving Jewish community.
I loved Sian's phrase of conversion as metamorphosizing the soul. In the V'Shomru prayer on Shabbat, we say שָׁבַ֖ת וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ׃ [translated as rested and was refreshed] But there is another way to understand that phrase as not allowing the body to be bound to the time demands of work so that one can be ensouled. This word--nefesh--for soul is also a verb. To infuse the soul means to give it action and Shabbat gives us the time to do it.
'Never Again is Now' is quite the documentary, especially as a Dutchman and I saw this coming as early as the 1990s. Just last Friday the kosher restaurant HaCarmel in Amsterdam was vandalized for the 7th time in the past 2.5 years.
What is both interesting and what will be deeply moving is that in September the 'Monument of Names' will be unveiled in Amsterdam, a large monument (much like the Vietnam memorial in DC) where all 102,000 murdered Jews will be honoured by name. The monument is the first one to honour each victim individually. It was not built without the expected hurdles and obstruction and part of the budget is of course allocated to ongoing security. But almost eighty years later it is there and it will hopefully solidify that the Dutch once had a huge and thriving Jewish community.
Love this