What is Jewish Trauma?

We know today that trauma is much more than a one-time experience. Trauma can be subtle and developed over time. It can be sustained through abuse, neglect, or a disconnect from one’s environment. It can be and often is, intergenerational. Each small trauma has a chain reaction and each step towards healing does the same. In the words of our sages “A positive action (Mitzvah) leads to a positive action. A negative action (Avera) leads to a negative action.”. 

For the Jewish people, our story begins with trauma. From the narratives of our ancestors and their journey through Egypt to the thousands of years of displacement, violence, and gaslighting. Because of this, the Jewish people have layers upon layers of internalized shame, self-criticism, and dissociation. Rather than feeling immense pride and joy in our tradition, laws, and teachings, we oftentimes second guess our right to live by our truths and embrace our native history, faith, and practices. 

But we are the people of the book and it’s our tradition that Moses laid out the framework of our story when he brought us the Torah. As believers in the divine destiny of history, we believe that our long and difficult journey has led us to this point in time to allow us to make a true and lasting difference in the world. To be a light for all nations. Furthermore, as the writings of our ancient prophets describe, our suffering has made us a gentle and kinder people. And those of us who’ve survived with our identities intact have a responsibility to gather together and unite to complete our destiny. To do this is to fully heal from our trauma and to live up to our core aspirations. Undisturbed by the foreign and subtly oppressive influences of those motivated by selfish gain at the expense of the less privileged.