Restoring Belief in Humanity

     When I need strength, I wear one of two necklaces.  On this trip, it has been my "Tikkun Olam" one: repair the world.  Other times, I wear a circle with words from "Invictus": I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."  This year has been a mix for me of needing to repair the world and needing to remind myself of where my strength lies.

    On my darkest day this spring,  my student (K.) gave me a gift.  K knew the meaning of the poem and knew that we were heading towards end-of-the-year goodbyes.  Using amazing artistic talent, this is what K made for me:

 On the bottom, you will see my words:  "We are stubborn, we are strong, we love deeply."  And then you will see how K attributed the quote.  "Emily Bengels, professional life changer."

   It was one of those moments where eternity stared me in the eye: professional life changer.  Please, make the change I place in each child's world be for the better.  Though I struggle, please let my acts be ones that lead the world closer to peace.  Please, may each child and each soul I meet know their own power to make a positive impact.  May I be worthy of this gift.

   There was a man named Pitter Premysl, and a woman named Olga Fierzova.  They were professional life changers and it breaks my heart that I never heard of them until now.    Look at this picture that one of his protégées, Yehuda Bacon, drew for him.  He entitled it "To the Man who Restored My Belief in Humanity."

   Yes, after the ravages of concentration camp existence (Yehuda was a Vedem colleague of Petr Ginz in Theresienstadt), humanity must not have felt very humane.  But look here how this light man helps a slouching boy up into the light of a palmy sunrise.   This was the work of Pitter Premsyl.

   Pitter had lived a normal childhood until one day, in World War I, he found himself on the shooting side of a firing squad.  He couldn't do it. He didn't have that violence in him.  I consider myself a peace activist, but there isn't much risk in my activism.  His conscientious objector status in that time put him at political risk.  But he decided at that moment to dedicate himself to his own version of Tikkun Olam.  His partner through this was the teacher and activist, Olga Fierzova.

Before the war, they kept an orphanage called "Milicuv Dum", providing a safe place for the poor children of Prague.  Unlike many of the havens of the time, this was open to all children--all faiths, all heritages.  In a time of rising nationalism and gaps between people, they created a home for all in need. 

  

After the war, nobody could just "go home".  Even long after Israel became a nation, there were Displaced Persons camps all over Western Europe.  It wasn't just the prisoners of concentration camps or the no-longer hidden children who were displaced.  Many people had been moved as a result of bombings, edicts and poverty.  There was major chaos in Europe; add to this the number of orphans, and you can understand how Pitter and Olga needed to do something.

  At first, they opened children's homes called "Castles" for Jewish children. But then, they realized there were German children who had ended up in Czech refugee camps... These children needed homes too.  Then, there were also Czech children in need.    Pitter and Olga took care of over 800 children. 

   In these children, as in my students, there is hope. Society must repair itself and we adults who love children must believe this.  My students actually are my life changers.  Thank you to them-- and thank you to heroes from the past-- for keeping my hope in humanity.