Henry Greenspan, at The Blogs

Jul 26, 2023, 7:03 AM

Judaism exquisitely attends to the needs and necessities of grief. From the first moments after a death, we embrace the bereaved with nurture, presence, and respect for the time that genuine grieving takes. In general, we avoid platitudes and...

Apr 17, 2023, 7:12 AM

Featured Post

Kristallnacht: Silence was not the problem

The New York Times reports Kristallnacht, November 11, 1938

Condemnation, especially moralistic condemnation, easily fosters the illusion of 'doing something,' after which, one can return to not doing anything

Jul 28, 2021, 12:25 PM

Dark Landscapes: A Geography of Corrosive Times 3 – The Clearing

This is the third blog of three in the "Dark Landscapes" series I have been posting. "The Cliff" was published on July 17. "The Mountain" came out on July 21. This, "The Clearing," is the shortest and, perhaps, the...

Jul 21, 2021, 1:08 PM

Dark Landscapes: A Geography of Corrosive Times 2–The Mountain

Part II: The Mountain This is the second of three short pieces on engaging our times against the background of fifty years of teaching and writing about the Holocaust. The first piece, “The Cliff,” was published in the July 17th...

Jul 18, 2021, 7:08 AM

Dark Landscapes: A Geography of Corrosive Times(1)

I have been teaching and writing about the Holocaust for 50 years. Like most who know that history deeply, I am more than wary of analogies. This piece and two that will follow are not about analogies. They are...

Feb 2, 2021, 9:56 AM

Oy Dude!

Hawaii's Makua Rothman surfs at Pe'ahi, also known as Jaws, during big wave surfing on January 14, 2018.

/ AFP PHOTO / brian Bielmann / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read BRIAN BIELMANN/AFP via Getty Images)

“Hawaiian-Jewish surfer Makua Rothman may have ridden the largest wave of all time” —Jewish Telegraphic Agency Oy Dude, it’s such a mitzvah to ride a moving mikva. Not since Moses dunked Yul Brynna has the tribe spritzed such a winna!

Jan 14, 2021, 8:04 AM

Two Plus Two Equals Five: Life in Nowhere

A week ago, I was involved in an online discussion that was, in part, political. In order to make a point, one of the participants compared mask mandates to “Hitler’s making Danish Jews wear yellow stars.” In his view,...

Jan 7, 2021, 7:03 PM

Catastrophe, Trump, and the Disaffection Fantasy

American Catastrophe, Trump, and the Fantasy of Disaffection A lot of liberal friends assume that the invasion of the U.S. Capitol incited by Trump will lead to disaffection among a significant number of his followers. The chorus repeats: “This is...

About Me

Henry (Hank) Greenspan is a psychologist and playwright at the University of Michigan who has been interviewing, teaching, and writing about the Holocaust and its survivors since the 1970s.