Judaism and the Poor

 
Proverbs 21:13: “If you refuse to listen to the cry of the poor, your own cry 
for help will not be heard.” 
 
For as long as I have been a social and political activist, I have believed in 
the importance of tending to the poor, but I wasn’t sure that my own religion, 
Judaism, cared about the poor. But the above verse, found in Proverbs, part of 
the Old Testament of the Bible, reassures me that Jews, too, are obliged to tend 
to the poor and oppressed. As a result, I feel vindicated in my life’s obsession 
with social justice and I feel more Jewish than ever. 
 
And I now believe that the New Testament is an extension of the Old: it improves 
upon the Old by asking humanity to focus on and tend to the vulnerable. Jesus 
may not be my savior, but I certainly see him as a brilliant and revolutionary 
prophet. 
 
I conclude by saying that whether one is a Jew or Gentile , he/she should read 
both parts of the Bible and read other religious tracts in order to improve 
himself intellectually and spiritually. 

Sami Steigmann Interview

3/6/09

Interview

with Sami Steigman, Volunteer at the Jewish Heritage Museum(By Craig R. Bayer)

Facts:

Genocide:

Geno: group

Cide: murder

The term “Holocaust” was coined by a Polish Jew in 1944. It was officially adopted as the tragedy’s name by the United Nations in 1948.

I interviewed Sami Steigman about his various volunteer activities, with a focus on his work for the Jewish Heritage(“Holocaust”) museum:

How many activities are you involved in?

Nine or ten activities…

Would you care to name some of them?

The Make-a-Wish Foundation, the Jewish Heritage Museum, the Red Cross, New York Cares, the Intrepid...I don’t think it’s important for you to name all of them. I’m not an egomaniac, I don’t want this article to be about me or to make  a big deal about me.

How did you become involved in the Holocaust museum?

Right place, right time. There was  a Culturefest held in Battery Park. Various institutions were there. I met these people, they offered me a six week course, I took the course

What do people in this building need to know about the Holocaust?

Hatred leads to  murder; at the slightest injustice, do not stand idly by: the Holocaust happened because people did not stand up to anti-Semitism; it can happen again: in Rwanda, blacks killed blacks, in Darfur, Sudan, the Hutsis killed the Tutsis, 95% of the Tutsis were murdered—nobody lifted a finger; anti-Semitism is prevalent, today: hate groups like the skinheads, KKK—they have to be feared and fought. Don’t diminish the significance of fringe groups—the Nazis were once  a fringe group; accept people for what they are—don’t discriminate; hatred is taught—babies are not born hating—ask why you hate—accept what you are doing(hating—just like in ten step groups--), so that you can change; learn tolerance of  other people and  cultures; realize that we have more in common than our differences.

Do you remember the quote I used during our tour? “Not every victim was a Jew, but every Jew was a victim..” They killed Greeks, Gypsies, etc. 0f the 55 million people killed , six million were Jews. The only difference between the Jews and everybody else was that  the Jews were slated to be killed in a systematic way.

Some members of  one of your tours were students. These students were so  moved by your presentation that they did a play in your honor and invited you to see it: The Diary of Anne Frank”.  What exactly is “The Diary of Anne Frank”?

Anne Frank was  a young Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam, Holland. She wrote this diary while in hiding. Eventually she was captured and killed. Why? J-E-W was the reason.

The weird thing is that there is no such thing as a  typical Jew—as Jews, we only share a religion –Jews around the world we eat different foods, have different customs.

But we’re victims of stereotyping. Stereotyping is very dangerous, because in every stereotype is an element of truth: Jews have big noses, etc.. But stereotyping does not tell the entire truth.

Sami says that he is less idealistic than he was in earlier years. However, he says, he still believes that the next generation of youth can and should be taught about the past, in hopes that they can build a better world. He wants today’s youth to honor the people who suffered.

He pointed out that as a result of the Holocaust many Jews became involved in the American Civil Right’s Movement, the struggle against Apartheid , the disaster in Darfur and many other human rights struggles, helping to fight injustice wherever it may be.

We briefly discussed what Sami gets out of his many activities. He says that, like I derive from my writing, it gives him a sense of purpose, it’s therapeutic(“you don’t hink of yourself, helping others helps you get out of yourself”).

“Until 2 years ago, I never talked about the Holocaust. The course and the work thereafter helped change my life. Make-A-Wish also changed my life completely. I learned about other cultures and met people from all over the world.”

Sami recommends becoming involved in an activity you’re seriously interested in, something for which you have passion, something which you enjoy.

And so, the interview concluded…

Sami Steigmann

Holocaust Remembrance Event

The “Holocaust Remembrance” event which took place on Sunday, November 13th in the Fountain House living room was a tremendous success. The featured guest, Mr. Sami Steigmann, a former Fountain House member, Holocaust educator/survivor and motivational speaker, did an excellent job describing how he learned to survive and thrive in spite of being a victim of Nazi experimentation(and the resulting intense physical pain), homelessness and depression.

Sami described his long, 70 year journey through various challenging experiences, weaving in the history of the Holocaust, an event which mystifies him to this day, because it was carried out not just by ordinary German citizens, but by highly trained, educated and cultured people. The lesson to be learned, as far as Sami is concerned is that people must not just be educated through the mind, but through the heart as well.

The inspiration to become a Holocaust educator and motivational speaker came partly through Sami’s volunteer work at the Make-A-Wish foundation, where he encountered a dying child who wore a button on his chest that said,”SURVIVOR”. From that point on, Sami overcame much of his depression and anger and decided to dedicate his life to volunteer work.  At the same time, he decided that he needed to better express himself, both in general and more specifically about the Holocaust. The reactions he has gotten both from children and adults(both verbally and written) to his Holocaust/motivational speeches has spurred Sami to continue his work, because he knows for sure that his work changes attitudes and lives.

Briefly, this writer/event organizer would like to thank all the people who participated in and worked hard on Sami’s event: namely Sami, Elliot Madison, Megan Williams, Richard Koo, Alan Finkelstein and Judy Meibach. I’d also like to thank the large and receptive audience, which include my supportive parents.

Hopefully, future events like this can be arranged.

Craig R. Bayer

Redemption

“Whenever I hold back the rain or send locusts to eat up the crops or send an epidemic on my people, if they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in  heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again.” 2 Chronicles 7:13

Quote of the Day

“Whenever I hold back the rain or send locusts to eat up the crops or send an epidemic on my people, if they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in  heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again.” 2 Chronicles 7:13

Vote!

You may not like either of the Presidential candidates of 2016, but it’s important to cast your vote because the President and the Congress (many of whom are also running in this election) have tremendous influence on life in America and all over the world. The Democrats and the Republicans, though both appear to be corrupt, still differ in their views and policies and can make your life better or worse, depending on for whom you vote. If you are in the mental health community, you might want to find out who is going to do more to help the poor and mentally ill; money for our programs is always in danger of being frozen or cut and we have to fight for our own healthcare and economic rights.

If you choose not to vote, you can’t complain about the disastrous results of the election, one of which theoretically could be your losing your right to vote, altogether. In undemocratic  countries, the people  have zero say about their own political and economic fate.

So vote in this election, no matter how angry you are at the candidates; sometimes it’s a matter of life and death.

Craig R. Bayer