Jews and Moral Injury: Finding faith after communities betray our values

Image courtesy of Moment Magazine.

By Jay Deitcher in Moment Magazine

Since moral injury is about “social pain” from losing faith in humanity, it can be beneficial for Jews struggling to find others who are grappling with the same issues so they can repair their sense of belonging and remember there are compassionate people who care about similar issues, Litz says. This was the case for many who attended a March conference for Smol Emuni, a group of Orthodox Jews concerned about Israel’s actions in Gaza, which they felt were being ignored by their communities. What started as a bimonthly living room salon with leftist speakers turned into an event held at Manhattan’s B’nai Jeshurun Synagogue attended by over 400 people. 

“The conference had that real magical sense of something new is happening here,” says Esther Sperber, one of the organizers, comparing it to coming out of the closet for many in attendance, some of whom shed tears at points. “There was definitely a sense of people in the room being excited to have found other people.”

(The following is an exerpt from the article. To read the full piece please click here).