Surviving Salvation: The Ethiopian Jewish Family in Transition
The book “Surviving Salvation: The Ethiopian Jewish Family in Transition” by Ruth Westheimer and Steven Kaplan authored in 1992 discusses the plight of a Jewish community that had for a significant period lived in Ethiopia once they were successfully relocated back to Israel in the year. The relocation process that was physically completed in the year 1991 was termed as Operation Solomon and had been mired by numerous diplomatic challenges before it was completed (Westheimer & Kaplan, 1992). The operation was the first of its kind since there had never before been such a massive relocation of an entire community from one geographic location to the next in an international context.
However, once the relocation of the Ethiopian Jews was completed, the much-awaited prophecy of its group presented the new Israeli community with a set of challenges that they had not anticipated to characterize their promised land. The new challenged were brought about the vast variations of the social contexts between Ethiopia, their previous home, and Israel, their new home (Westheimer & Kaplan, 1992). In Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Jews had lived in a third-world nation community setting that was composed of small isolated villages that lacked social infrastructure. At the same time, their new home was a post-modernized urban setting characterized by advancement in all life aspects relative to their former homes.
The migration of the Ethiopian Jews from Ethiopia to Israel brings to light various change aspects indicated in the evolution of human societies and the impacts they have on a community both on individuals and on society collectively (Westheimer & Kaplan, 1992). One of the challenges faced by the new entrants during their integration into the Israeli community was a crisis in the self-concept of individual members of the immigrants. The members of the Ethiopian Jews experienced a crisis in their perception of the self in the new settings since the variation in the level of social and technological advancement between Ethiopia and Israel challenged their perception of social roles. The book was a reflection of how social changes in a community over time, elicited by different political, economic, or technological factors impact the dynamics prevailing in the society.
Reflection – CBS this morning “Dr.Ruth: Note to self.”
Dr. Ruth Westheimer is among the most famous world-renown sex therapist. However, like all people who have attained incredible success in their lives, her journey did not start at the stop but rather at an astonishing low characterized by many challenges. In her “Note to Self” read aloud on the 28th of October 2013, Dr. Ruth Westheimer addresses her ten-year-old self (CBS This Morning, 2013). In the note, Westheimer uses the note briefly summarizes some of the challenges she experienced at a young. In the note, she recalls the last day she saw her aunt and her mother as they were being separated in Nazi Germany, and how she later realized that she had lost the rest of her family forever and would never see them again (CBS This Morning, 2013). Moreover, she also narrates about her overwhelming desire for her dead family and the challenges she faced due to her outlying short physical demeanor.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer “Note to Self” also discusses significant impacts that Ruth’s hardship earlier in life had on her perception and choices. She narrates how the realization that she will never again see her parents inspired her to make the best out of the life she had been lucky to retain while six million individuals lost theirs for the mere crime of being Jews (CBS This Morning, 2013). Ruth also acknowledges the different changes and unexpected outcomes that she had not anticipated in her life. These include an inversion of her name, the symbolism of Hitler’s failure represented by the family she created, and how the loss of her family made her cherish her new family more.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer “Note to Self” is a message of encouragement to all young children and adults to whom life has imposed a hard situation. A message that reminds them that they may not always have control over life events, but will still have control over the perceptions they create about life events. Moreover, the note reminds the listeners that life does not only present harsh n painful situations but also sweet and fulfilling gifts that should be cherished. Finally, the note is also a reminder that painful events I life should serve as a contrast that helps us to cherish more the gifts that life bestows upon us.