TEDxOmaha - Magda Peck - Lighting Shamashim for Community Good
The speaker argues that igniting passion and pursuing social change requires an iterative, selfless effort, modeled by the ritual of Hanukkah. She demonstrates that like the *shamash* candle, true change is not a single event but a continuous act of lighting the possibility for the next person. This responsibility falls on every individual to move from apathy to action. ## Speakers & Context - Unnamed speaker; presenter of the talk. - Introduces Evie Zeisman, whom she met when the speaker was half her age. - The speaker notes conversations with Evie Zeisman began when she joined the social justice committee at Temple Israel in Omaha, Nebraska. - The talk is framed as responding to the question: "what is possible when the spark within us of passion is ignited." ## Theses & Positions - The core question for humanity is: what is possible when passion is ignited. - True passion for change must be practiced iteratively and repetitively, much like lighting the Hanukkah candles. - The responsibility for social progress cannot rest solely on "Big L leaders"; individuals must take ownership to prevent a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. - Change requires a shift from apathy to concrete action, exemplified by the role of the *shamash*. - The ultimate act of service is to dedicate passion not only to personal dreams but to igniting the possibility for others. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Moral Indigestion:** The state described by Evie Zeisman, signifying a constant awareness of moral obligation to address injustice. - **Civil Discourse:** The way of conversation that is eroding in modern politics, where dialogue is polarized to binary states of right or wrong. - ***Shamash*:** The candle used in the Hanukkah Menorah that lights all the others; represents the catalyst for possibility and change. - **Apathy to Action:** The necessary transition for individuals to move from passive concern to active involvement in community improvement. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Conversation with Evie:** Sessions involved discussing what it takes to ignite passion and change the world, often starting with simple actions like arranging olives on a stick to illustrate disregard for detail. - **Hanukkah Candle Lighting Ritual:** The process involves lighting candles sequentially, starting with one on the first night, and adding one more candle each night (1 + 1, 1 + 2, 1 + 3, etc.), culminating in seven lit candles on the eighth night. - **The *Shamash* Mechanism:** The *shamash* candle is the element that allows the subsequent candles to be lit; it symbolizes that change cannot happen unless someone initiates the first act. - **Iterative Value Ingraining:** The ritual teaches that to instill values like action, the process must be repetitive and gradual. ## Timeline & Sequence - **Meeting Evie:** Occurred when the speaker was half Evie's age (Evie was 90). - **Evie's Longevity:** Conversations continued when Evie was 92, 95, and 98, continuing until she was 101. - **Misshabot:** The speaker underwent the ritual of *Bot Mitzvah* in her 40s, discovering the rituals of her faith later in life. - **Hanukkah Celebration:** The ritual teaches the progression over eight nights. ## Named Entities - **Temple Israel:** Location where the speaker began discussions with Evie Zeisman. - **Omaha, Nebraska:** Birthplace of Evie Zeisman; location of the community focus. - **ConAgra:** Location cited as having a bake sale for a hunger Coalition. ## Numbers & Data - Evie Zeisman's age when met: **90**. - Years for which Evie asked about potential: **45 more years to live**. - Number of candles for Hanukkah: **Eight** nights of celebration. - Candle progression pattern: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (cumulative additions). - Age range of speaker's *Bot Mitzvah*: **40s**. - Evie Zeisman's current age: **101**. ## Examples & Cases - **Child Hunger:** The discussion centered on children going hungry in Omaha, Nebraska, despite the area being the wealthiest in the general area. - **Political Polarity:** Observing the inability for conversation now that requires being strictly right or wrong. - **Personal Offense:** The speaker took personal offense witnessing antisemitism and vitriol while riding her bike on the Keystone Trail. - **Martinis Conversation:** The initial exchange involving the olives—discarding the olives rather than eating them—is used to illustrate something requiring conscious rejection or disposal of excess. - **The *Shamash* Analogy:** If the community acts as a *shamash*, it lights the possibility, which is then passed on to the next generation. ## Tools, Tech & Products - **Keystone Trail:** Location where the speaker experienced antisemitism. - **Hanukkah Menorah:** The physical object used to illustrate the concept of cumulative action through the lighting of candles. ## References Cited - *Columbia*: Institution where Evie Zeisman received her Master's degree in Social Work. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **Leading vs. Being Led:** The failure of believing that "Big L leaders" will solve problems, leading to setting them up for failure. - **Selfish vs. Selfless Passion:** The choice between pursuing one's own dreams/business versus igniting the possibility for the person beside or left. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - The tendency of people to "opt out of caring," numbed by the complexity of problems. - The challenge of maintaining sustained passion and commitment across generations. ## Methodology - Socratic questioning, using personal anecdotes (bike rides, conversations) and established rituals (Hanukkah) to derive a model for social action. - The use of comparison: contrasting the difficulty of living late in life (90s) with the moral imperative to act on issues like child hunger. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - To achieve change, one must adopt the role of the *shamash*—the person who lights the first candle, initiating possibility. - The speaker strongly encourages attendees to commit to lighting the light of others for possibility, regardless of recognition or visibility. - The goal is to ensure that in Omaha, Nebraska, "there will be *shamash* that light the miracles that make it possible for us to transform our community unities for the greater good." ## Implications & Consequences - A failure to embrace iterative, shared responsibility means that social problems (poverty, injustice) will persist because no single entity will take the lead. - Becoming a *shamash* means accepting the burden of being the catalyst for others' possibility. ## Verbatim Moments - *"what is possible when the spark within us of passion is ignited"* - *"what are you going going to do about it"* - *"wake up with moral indigestion"* - *"honey that's just not right"* - *"what happened to civil discourse"* - *"I have seen that before and it's still not gone"* - *"how do you light the lights of Hanukkah"* - *"we have learned that if we're going to ingrain the values of action you've got to do it iteratively and repetitively"* - *"you light one and you have possibility that things can change"* - *"the one that doesn't count that's the key"* - *"we are shamash"* - *"I will not only never let it go out I will keep it in my heart and I will light the light of others"* - *"even if in fact you don't get any credit any visibility any airtime"*