“My identity is very connected to Judaism. I have a Jewish home with a mezuzah on the door. I work out of my house and my office faces the lake in Lake St. Louis. I just love the view. During Chanukah, I put up a menorah or two or three in the house and one in the window. My neighbors know I’m Jewish. And when other people find out, they seem to be pleasantly interested.

Both my parents are Holocaust survivors from Poland. My father’s family was from Lodz. A lot of survivors are from that city and a lot of Jews from there fled to Russia. My father was sent to a gulag in Siberia because they said he was a spy, which he was not. My mother had Christian documents. A priest helped provide her with them and risked his life doing so. She traveled to several places and at one point was on the front line between Russia and Germany.

My parents were extremely optimistic — the kind of survivors where everything was for their children and trying to make a better world. One of the reasons I think Jews are so resilient is that we know anything is possible. In a lot of Torah stories, there’s a rainbow at the end. Look at the story of Passover. The Jews were slaves and they persevered. Throughout history, Jews often knew there would be ups and downs. It’s like the story of Joseph, who went from being a prisoner to a prince. I think that’s what Jewish children over the millennia have internalized — this model of resilience and that there’s going to be a better day ahead.”

📷| Bill Motchan