M y mother is a Holocaust survivor the only remnant of her immediate family. I felt her loss most keenly when I had my own children and would call her to share their latest “chochmahs.” I wondered then With whom did my mother share her own children’s milestones?
Part of the dynamic of human connection is that when we experience something that evokes strong emotions we want to share it with someone close to us. Encounter extreme beauty in nature for example and out comes the device to take a picture so we can show (or tweet or post) it to others.
Yet sometimes we share things with others that we have no right to share either because they were told to us in confidence or because we know the other person involved is private about these matters. Why do we do it? Mostly because we want a connection to the people we’re talking to so we disregard the wishes of others who may be much closer to us.
Responding to Injustice
If our desire to share is strong when it comes to things that are beautiful or positive how strong is the urge to speak when we experience something unpleasant or untrue? We all have an innate sense of justice (as it says in Koheles 7:29 “Asah ha’Elokim es ha’adam yashar — G-d made man upright”) which often leads to a visceral response to an injustice.
