Bruce Springsteen at the Shoah Foundation
On October 13th, I had the great honor of attending the USC Shoah Foundation’s Ambassador to Humanity 30th Anniversary dinner. The Shoah Foundation was founded by Steven Spielberg to record the testimony of survivors of the Holocaust. Since its creation, it has spawned many other educational projects related to the Shoah and other genocides.
This benefit took place at a poignant moment in Jewish history. One might subscribe to philosopher George Santayana, who wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Others prefer the famous quote attributed to Mark Twain: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
In whatever way we understand the similarities and differences between previous times and our own: The war in Israel, the hostage situation, antisemitism taking place in America (including Jewish students being preyed upon by many pro-Palestinian protesters on campuses) and Jews being attacked in other places in the world are all issues that concern us. The lessons of the Holocaust are very present in our minds as Jews, as Americans, and as human beings.
The program was fascinating. Specifically, in the year 2024, to be in a room with over sixty survivors was absolutely moving. They are our teachers. The work of the Shoah Foundation is vital, preserving the words and images of the survivors through technology. Nonetheless, we must take every opportunity to learn from them while they are still with us. If you have a chance to be at a lecture of a survivor, do everything possible to be there for their speech. When you are in the presence of a survivor, in someone’s home, a synagogue, or a school, stand when they walk in; show them the deference they deserve and then speak to them about their life.
Luminaries, both Jewish and otherwise, in the entertainment field spoke on a range of critical issues, from Holocaust awareness to antisemitism, solidarity for Israel in the wake of October 7, and prejudice against all people. Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, Debra Messing, Matthew Modine, and Alex Edelman were just a few of the artists who lent their support. Itzhak Perlman masterfully played the “Theme from Schindler’s List” on the violin.
A highlight of the evening was hearing Bruce Springsteen. I love his music and have seen him in concert many times. However, there was something more special about what he did that night. Of course, his sheer presence at such an event was significant. Regardless of what he said and played, just being there made a statement.
Going into the evening, I wondered about the setlist. Bruce often communicates ideas through the selection of songs he performs. He played two interesting compositions: “The Ghost of Tom Joad” and “Dancing in the Dark.” At first glance, these would seem like strange choices.
Let us analyze “The Ghost of Tom Joad, ” the title track of the 1995 album. The song is based on the character of Tom Joad in John Steinbeck’s 1939 book The Grapes of Wrath. The song features religious imagery, including lyrics like “He pulls a prayer book out of his sleepin’ bag” and “Got a one-way ticket to the promised land.”
On a more general level, the song articulates how economic issues cause those living on the poorer end of society to give up their homes in search of whatever glimmer of hope is left for a new place to live with opportunities elsewhere. This, of course, fits with the Grapes of Wrath theme. While ostensibly, the song is more focused on economic injustice, symbolically, the Ghost of Tom Joad represents all injustice: “Where there’s a fight against the blood and hatred in the air/Look for me, Mom, I’ll be there,” could it be that Bruce’s choosing this song was a statement against antisemitism?
The second song, “Dancing in the Dark,” would be a far greater surprise to most people. After all, this is the song that most people associate with his most popular album (Born In The USA), the song that people remember him literally dancing on stage with Courtney Cox. How could this possibly be a song for the Shoah Foundation? To begin with, like Ghost of Tom Joad, he played it acoustic. The stripped-down versions had a raspier, understated quality. They told an unvarnished tale.
What is “Dancing in the Dark” articulating on a conceptual level? The prayer that so much of Klal Yisrael (the Jewish people) has been singing since October 7th is the prayer Acheinu. It is a prayer of the challenges the Jewish people face at any given time and asking God for The One’s help during these challenging times. Towards the end of the prayer, it says, “May the Omnipresent have mercy on them and bring them forth from distress to wellbeing and From darkness to light, and from subjugation to redemption.” Perhaps Bruce was sending Jews, Americans, and people, in general, a message that while we are living in times that often feel dark, we cannot give up hope, and we still have to dance, “Even if we’re just dancing in the dark.”
At the end of The Grapes of Wrath, Tom makes his famous “I’ll be here” speech: “Then it doesn’t matter. I’ll be all around in the dark – I’ll be everywhere. Wherever you can look, wherever there’s a fight.” “The Ghost of Tom Joad” is the concept of people coming together as a community against injustice. So, let us come together against antisemitism and all forms of hate. At the same time, as we look towards Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah, let us also come together to dance, “Even if we’re just dancing in the dark.”