The Empowered Jew

🎙️ Stay tuned for this conversation with Dr Ari Lander, founder of Voices of Survival.

Through the power of storytelling and survivor testimony, Ari works to educate people about the devastating real-world consequences of racism, prejudice, and genocide, with the goal of ensuring history never repeats itself.

A thought-provoking discussion you won’t want to miss!

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I know many of us may feel somewhat “over Bondi,” but for us, the Jewish community here in Sydney, especially those who survived and those who lost loved ones, it is never-ending.

A constant.

Always on our minds and in our hearts.

I don’t want to say it has become an intrinsic part of us, because we refuse to let it define us. Our response is, and always will be, to increase in light. But it is something that stays with us, something that we carry every single day.

Today, my friend Chaya had a baby boy, whom she named after her brother-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger HYD.

I already get emotional at brissim. What a holy and sacred moment, a baby boy entering the eternal covenant of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.

But today, the tears didn’t stop rolling.

Watching Rabbi Eli’s son, Nosson, hold the newborn baby who was being named after his father was earth-shattering. A painful stab in the heart, and yet at the very same time, we were celebrating a simcha.

The emotions were raw, complex, and impossible to put into words.

And they don’t just go away.

They will never completely go away.

And yet, we continue.

We continue to empower.
We continue to add light.
We continue to live.
We continue to bring life into this world.

Because that’s what the Jewish people do.

We choose life.

Am Yisrael Chai.

Praying for the ultimate redemption now.

Part 4 of our series on how the Enlightenment and Moses Mendelssohn changed Judaism forever!

Introducing the Conservative Movement, which emerged in the 19th century as a response to both Reform Judaism and the challenges of modernity.

This is just a broad overview designed to spark curiosity and start the conversation. There’s always more to learn.

Check out our other reels to follow the series in order! 📚✨

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