In Judaism, we hold space for joy and despair simultaneously, and The Jewish Community Campus’ social hall is one of the greatest examples I know.
At Jewish weddings, it’s customary for the couple to smash a glass, to commemorate the destruction of the Temple and the sadness and destruction throughout Jewish history. On the happiest day of your life, when you’re celebrating love and finding your soulmate, standing under the chuppah in front of your closest friends and family, everyone takes a moment to remember pain and hardship.
Yom HaZikaron, Israeli Memorial Day, and Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, directly follow one another. Not even a day in between, these national days create a striking contradiction. One moment you’re honoring and recognizing the lives of fallen Israeli soldiers and victims of terrorism, and the next, you’re living it up, watching fireworks, listening to live music performances and partying across the country.
These two are not the only examples of the striking dichotomy Judaism presents with joy and despair. We spend all of the Passover Seder celebrating our escape from slavery in Egypt, but we stop to spill some wine (signifying joy) out of our glasses to remember the pain and hardship the Egyptians faced as a result of the 10 plagues. On Yom Kippur, we’re as holy as an angel, joyfully praising G-d and receiving a fresh start. At the same time, we spend all day acknowledging our brokenness, personal failings, and apologizing to ourselves, others and Hashem for our wrongdoings.
These instances shine a light on the trends of resilience and hope throughout Jewish history. It gives a deeper meaning and significance to joy. Not only are we celebrating during these joyful moments and thanking G-d for the greatness our lives hold, but we’re celebrating in spite of all that tried to hurt us. All the destruction and hatred the Jewish people have faced is recognized in these moments and it gives greater meaning to our joy.
“What does this have to do with the social hall?” you might ask. Well, I realized recently that the social hall is a space that has seen our best moments as a Jewish community to our worst.
Pretend for a moment you’re a fly on the wall in the social hall. (Please ignore the fact that flies’ lives are less than a month long and they definitely do not stay stationary on the wall.)
In just the past year, you would’ve been witness to The J’s father daughter dance, PJ Library’s Hanukkah Glow Party, countless Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy lunch hours, a celebration of Kansas City’s Maccabi Athletes, among countless other celebratory, joyful, enthusiastic events.
But, in addition to all of those joyous occasions, you would’ve witnessed the harrowing story of Oct. 7 survivor Irene Shavit, a packed room for the community vigil remembering Sarah Milgrim, The Holocaust Survivor Book Fair and many more important events that allowed our community to feel and honor the pain and hardship of our collective Jewish story.
The social hall hosts events from so many of our community organizations, from Sasone to PJ Library, Jewish Family Services to the Jewish Community Foundation. It holds events for our youth and our elderly, events for those who are secular Jews and those who are Orthodox Jews. What a gift it is to have a space for our entire community that holds joy, pain, anguish and celebration.
Alexis Greenberg is a recent KU graduate with a master’s degree in project management. She is currently Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City’s digital marketing specialist.
