Shofar So Good

Yesterday was Holocaust Remembrance Day, about which I don't usually talk because I was scarred as a young teen by being forced by my yeshiva to watch Nazi films featuring the various atrocities they committed against Jews and other undesirables and their pride thereof, and we weren't even allowed to leave the gym (they locked the doors). Ever since then I can't watch anything Holocaust-related, so yeah, I guess the shock treatment worked. It certainly contributed to me leaving that yeshiva and later the religious aspect of Judaism (although I will always carry the cultural aspect). As we live near a number of Jewish neighbors, perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised Sunday evening when I heard a shofar being blown as the Buffalo Bills scored touchdowns (at least I associated that sound with celebration). No judgment, mind you, but having tried my hand (lips?) at the ol' ram's horn I can attest that It Tastes Terrible, and nobody in their right mind should ever want to put their mouths to it. Anyway, because my employer is NOT one of those idiotic corporations capitulating to the current administration's desire to rid our country of diversity and equity and inclusion, I was able to unburden myself of those tween memories at a meeting of our Jewish Ancestry diversity group (I'm in about six diversity groups at work; once an activist...), during a side convo with ladies at least two generations younger than me. Which is a good thing, because these moments need to be shared and passed on before it all happens again, as appears occasionally imminent. I keep reminding myself of my belief (like Anne Frank's) that people are generally good and need to be pushed or lied to or propagandized to be evil. It's just a bit depressing to think of how much deprogramming will be necessary for some folks.