For the Love of Judaism
Rabbi Michael Pont, Senior Rabbi at Marlboro Jewish Center, shares his message of love, inspiration and Torah.
For the Love of Judaism
The Third Generation of Survivors
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More than 80 years since the end of World War II, we will soon reach a point when there are no more living Holocaust survivors. As we experience a surge in antisemitism in the United States and around the world, finding ways to keep their stories of perserverance and survival alive is more important now than ever before.
Enter Wendy Tepper, the Outreach Coordinator for 3GNJ, an organization that trains the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors to tell their grandparents stories. Wendy's grandfather Oscar Cukierman, survived five years in concentration camps before making his way to Italy and eventually to the United States.
In this episode, Wendy shares what it is like to tell her grandfather's story, why it is so important, and how she thinks stories like Oscar Cukierman's help stem the growing tide of antisemitism.
Shalom, I am Rabbi Michael Pont, and this is For the Love of Judaism, and today we have on the show Wendy Tepper. Wendy is the proud granddaughter of the Holocaust survivor Oscar Kukerman. Growing up as part of the 3G community, third generation survivors, shaped her passion for education and inspired her to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in elementary ed at Penn State. From the start, Wendy has been committed to teaching children the values of kindness, advocacy, and celebrating diversity. After 12 years in the classroom, Wendy brought her experience to 3G NY, a nonprofit where grandchildren of Holocaust survivors share their family stories as a living bridge to history. As the interim education and outreach coordinator, she helped to connect audiences with these powerful testimonies, ensuring that the lessons of the Shoah, the Holocaust Act, continue to inspire future generations. Today, Wendy is leading the development of 3GNJ, an affiliate of 3G NY, dedicated to strengthening Holocaust education in New Jersey schools. Through this work, she continues her family's legacy of resilience and remembrance. All right, Wendy Tepper, welcome to the show. How are you today?
SPEAKER_01I'm good. Thank you for having me, Rabbi. I'm here.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's a pleasure. And Wendy is a mom at the Marlborough Jewish Center Preschool. So I see Wendy regularly, and she is just such an asset to our community for all of her advocacy and volunteering. So, Wendy, let's let's just dive right in here. I'm ready. Your grandfather was Oscar Kukerman. So tell us his story of survival during World War II.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So when I go and speak with students about my grandpa Oscar, you know, I told the story for over an hour. It's very intricate, but I'm going to try to give you a snippet of kind of, you know, the synopsis of his story. So my grandfather Oscar Kukerman was born in Benzing, Poland. As and when he was born, his name was Usher, actually. So that was his born given name. And as a child, he had two parents, Mendel and Sirla, and three younger brothers, Wolf, Shia, and Matik. And so there were four boys in the house, very chaotic. If you have a bunch of sons, you know, like it's just, you know, it's a crazy household. But they all very like were like loved each other and you know, they went to school, it was normal. His parents owned a grocery store in town, so everybody knew the Kucherman family. Um, and unfortunately, you know, when the war really amped up when um Germany invaded Poland, my grandfather's family did not have time to escape. His father, Menzel, paid the um Nazis in town um money to keep leave them alone for a little bit. And they agreed because of the grocery store, you know, that they needed the grocery store too. And after a while, though, uh, because they needed laborers, my grandfather unfortunately was the oldest brother. So at the age of 14, he was taken into um a concentration camp alone, away from his entire family. And, you know, throughout his experience in the concentration camps, he um actually connected with his best friend from childhood, um, Matik. So the two of them actually stayed in camps together for a few years, which was very rare to be able to find someone you knew, let alone stay together, right? And so they stayed together for a few years until they reached the fourth camp. So they were in three camps together. And in the fourth camp, um called Fintechen, um, my grandfather was separated from Matik because the Nazis were pretty cruel at this camp. They were high-ranking officials and uh they would call out numbers, and if your number was called, you disappeared. And so Matik disappeared, unfortunately. And my grandfather, you know, um said the only reason why he kept going was to see his mom. Like that was what kept him alive and kept his strength that he wanted to see her. He said if I, you know, died or was, you know, murdered in the camps, they she would never know what happened to me. So he kept going to see her again. Within that camp, they also broke his arm for not marching correctly. So they uh took him to um the infirmary on the campgrounds and he had pneumonia, a broken arm. And the most incredible part of the story is that the doctor in the camp actually knew my grandfather from home and his mother had been sick before the war, so the doctor took care of Sirla and Mendel, his father, brought him fruits and vegetables every day. So his the doctor actually ended up saving my grandfather because of the kindness that his father showed him. My grandfather then went on to survive a six-day train ride on a cattle car because of the doctor feeding him extra and trying to heal him a bit. And so there was a lot of just like moments of luck or moments of strength that he showed throughout the camps. And he was in the concentration camps for almost five years. Um, and he was liberated by the Russian army and then eventually made his way to Italy because his entire family unfortunately did not survive. So his parents and his three brothers were all murdered during the Shoah. And so in Italy, he, you know, started a new life, played soccer, loved it there, you know, ate pasta for the first time, and but then found out that his aunt was alive in New York. So he was able to uh hop on a boat and got to Brooklyn and on his first day in Brooklyn, a taxi stopped in the middle of the street and it ended up someone jumped out and it was Matik, his best friend. Um, they ran into each other on my grandfather's first day in America. So, like I said, this story is like an over an hour long, and I gripped the students the entire time. And I'm just giving you the synopsis, but it is a very in the intense, like people say that can't be true. Like that's an insane story. I said, No, it's real, you know. So just giving you the little piece there, you can see I mean it's a story of resilience and just strength. And I don't know how someone survives all of that, but was able to, you know, build a new life in America.
SPEAKER_00So I'm still stuck on Motec that he I know, I know.
SPEAKER_01I feel like maybe we need a separate podcast so I could tell you the whole story, but um, yeah, they they found each other, and my grandfather actually moved into an apartment and and he was his uh across the street neighbor. They ended up finding each other even again. It was it's so they were it was beshared, right? They always say it was meant to be.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that is that is wild. I love that. Uh yeah, I I so I need yes, this was the director's cut of the story. I need to hear the full version, so I need to go to see one of your talks on that or or something. Because I I gotta know the whole story. But you're right. I mean, we have limited time in this podcast. What are you gonna do? I was gonna ask, so I know that the Nazis invaded Poland. I mean, the official date was September 1st, 1939. And, you know, your great-grandfather held off the Nazis for a short time, I guess, with with bribes. But so if your grandfather was in the camps for five years, so he got sent off around like 1940, I guess.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, he was in the camps for almost the entire time um and was able to somehow survive. There were other pieces of luck during the during the story. You know, again, you'll hear me talk about it at one point, but you know, he somehow is able to survive. And I it it really it teaches you this there's so many lessons you can learn from the story, but a lot of this, what I'll ask at the end to the students, like what did you learn right from this story? Like that's a piece, like this happened so long ago, but what can we take today in 2025? And I would say the most popular answer, I guess, that students will always say is just um to appreciate what you have and that that you can be resilient, right? Like to like know that if my grandfather went through that, I can get through anything, and it is very inspiring. And I even live by that as well. So um my grandpa used to say I used to have survivor blood in me, you know, that I wouldn't be able to get through anything. So, you know, and and students feel that too when I tell the story.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's beautiful. And that and uh I was thinking the same thing. The things that we that we struggle with are are genuine and real, but the stories of you know our ancestors and things like these stories, which are so extreme, should really inspire anyone who hears them. You know, and we'll get into how you're you know you're spreading your message in in the schools and whatnot, but I mean I feel inspired. And you know, those little acts of kindness, little miracles that happen along the way, like the doctor, for instance. So I assume the doctor who cared for your grandfather was not Jewish, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, he was poll in a Polish intern. And I believe I've got according to my grandfather after the war, I think he was hung for war crimes because he was not a he was very evil. He he did a lot of you know terrible things in the camps, but he decided to save my grandfather just because of the act of kindness from his parents. And that's another thing that students pick up on too, which we'll talk about, but it's just like showing kindness and and showing up for each other, right, in little ways. And it's like all those little acts of kindness is what makes the world better. Um, and so it's there's just so many lessons to be learned. And I I do hope that you come and see me one time because I think you'll uh enjoy it. I'll have to give you some of my dates.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna become like a fanboy or something. I'll just show up. All right, Wendy. So tell us about the the 3G community, you know, grandchildren of survivors, and um, how is it different from second generation, the children of survivors?
SPEAKER_01That's a great question. So um I could talk about my own experience, but then talk about other 3Gs that have, you know, told me the difference between them and their parents and their relationship with their grand with their grandparents. So I think overall, from what I've gathered from many 3Gs, that we are almost a few steps removed, right, from the experience of the Holocaust. And so our grandparents have a very different relationship with us than they did with their own children. Um, I think a lot of parents, you know, had some sort of post-generational trauma like trauma, right? Like with having parents who just went through something so horrible and it manifests in different ways, right? So sometimes the the survivors will be very tough on the on the on the kids. Like, you know, if they complain about something like enough already, get over it, right? Like kind of like horse. And then there's other grandparents who um went through the the showa and are the opposite and are so protective and mushy and and like, but to the point where like maybe they don't let their kids do much because they're so protective over what they lost, right? So there's a lot of like within their own um relationship with their children, you know, a little bit um divisiveness or or or uncomfortability or um things that the children maybe uh didn't realize necessarily came from their experience in the Holocaust um until maybe they got older. But then you have the grandchildren that these are their grandparents, right? And so there's a totally different relationship. We know that a lot of survivors did not talk about their stories to their own children, but now they're telling their grandchildren the story. Um, it is a diff, because again, it's one step removed. Right. So I think that the relationships are very different and they're just, I don't know, the grandchildren relationship, it's so beautiful. I mean, in my own experience, my grandfather and I were very close. He lived with us growing up, and so every night I watched Jeopardy with him. He took me to Dunkin' Donuts, he drove me to every dance recital, dance class, Hebrew school. And so, and we would just like talk in the car. He spoke 10 languages, so he would try to teach me 10 languages. Yeah, 10 languages. He spoke 10 languages, he was very, very brilliant.
SPEAKER_00Could I just ask, I I just I want to just dig on that a little bit. Did that help him with his survival, like knowing different languages?
SPEAKER_01I think it helped him form relationships with different groups because he was learning languages along the way. So, like during the story, he met a bunch of Russian POWs in the camp that helped him. And so he quickly learned Russian and was able to, you know, uh, you know, kibbots with them, you know. So he was able to talk to them. So, and then when he got to Italy, you know, he learned the language pretty quickly and became pretty popular there and played soccer. So there's just a lot of, I think, because he was able to learn languages, I think he was able to survive in different ways, even learning German so quickly, because you know, if they bark at you in German, you'd have to follow the directions, right? And so all these people who never spoke German, but he was able to learn. So, but yeah, I think it's just a beautiful relationship in the 3G community is is strong and we're trying to build because there aren't a lot of us out there, but you know, when we find each other, we have so many commonalities, um, which is really beautiful and you know, feelings of the same way. And I know we're going to talk about like the current rise in anti-Semitism and how that affects us, but it to me, and from what I've spoken to, it does affect descendants very deeply.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And what you're saying about the differences between two Gs and three Gs makes a lot of sense because all you have to do is start with, you know, a standard relationship between parents and children versus grandparents and children. I mean, you know, there's often tensions with parents and their children that are based on, you know, past disagreements, past traumas, not as extreme as, you know, going through a war and what have you. Whereas the relationships between grandchildren and their grandparents, just like you're saying, are much different. I mean, there's grandkids are often in awe of their grandparents and just it's just all excitement and love, you know, especially, you know, leading up to age about 10, you know, through you know, once you get to adolescence, maybe that changes a little bit. So then if you add the layer of the Showa on top of that, of the Holocaust, it just probably is just a force multiplier.
SPEAKER_01100%. And I'm realizing through my own life that my grandfather was he. So he between the two types that I was talking about before, he was the mushy type because again, he lost his entire family. So we were his everything. He called us our, you know, our a princess. Like he'd say, My princesses are here. And yes, uh, you know, what can I what can I get you today? You know, oh, you don't want to go to Hebrew school. Don't tell mom I'm gonna drive you and take you to Dunkin' Donut. It's like, I mean, it was just like he just he just was so loving and um and mushy, and it was such a special relationship. And I just I cherry I cherish all the memories and moments with him, and um it's an honor for me to speak about him because we were so close.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, I love it. I mean, all right, I'll give him a pass on the Hebrew school thing. I know I was like, oh you know, uh okay. I mean, I love Duncan too, but you know, kids, if you're listening out there, don't miss Hebrew school.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, don't miss Hebrew school.
SPEAKER_00That's right. That's right. So, Wendy, you're as I said in your bio, you're a trained classroom teacher, but you left the classroom, at least in the traditional sense, uh, to join 3G NY. So, you know, tell us about your work with 3G NY. What and how did that inspire you to want to leave uh security of the classroom, if you will?
SPEAKER_01Sure, that's a great question. So I worked for um a district in New Jersey for 12 years. I was a very um, you know, highly regarded teacher, like I won Teacher of the Year, you know, people were pretty shocked that I left teaching um just because I was very passionate about it. You know, a lot of students would like go to high school and say, like, they would write me letters like you're still the teacher I think about. So I know like I made an impact, right? And so people were shocked. But the district that I taught in um had a pretty large anti-Semitic incident. Um, and so I tried to, you know, because it is personal for me, right? I've tried, I tried to work with the administration to figure out, you know, you know me, I've been teaching here for 12 years, you know, can I help you with this or figure out a solution? I can tell my story, you know, et cetera. And I was met with a lot of like red tape, um, to put it lightly, a lot of resistance. A lot of, well, if we have you come in, what about the other side? There is no other side, right? So this is it's it's an it's an anti-Semitic incident, and we need to address like that. It was hate, you know, allegedly hatred of Jews. They called it an alleged incident. So I was just very frustrated and I was already um a trained speaker through 3G NY because 3G NY does train their speakers. Now Living Links, which is the Shoah Foundation, uh trains their speakers. But at the time when I took the course, it was 3G NY. And I'd so I'd been a volunteer with them. I had been doing talks for them. And it happened to be when I was ready to actually resign and I made that decision, I was kind of going back and forth. The executive director of 3G NY, Dave Recus, texted me and said, you know, our coordinator, education coordinator actually is stepping down. Would you be interested in joining in the interim until we figure out who we're going to hire? And I said, Wow, again, using the word beshared, like how crazy is that that like the week I was thinking about maybe quitting, they reached out to me. So I I took that as a sign. And so I ended up taking and me being very brave and taking the decision to um resign from teaching. And I let them know, I let the district know the reason I'm resigning is because I have this new passion that I'm going to be pursuing, but also I want to make sure that I'm helping more districts fight anti-Semitism and spread Holocaust education when my own district could not. I did tell them that. So um, you know, I started with 3GNY and we we really made a huge impact. And I know we're gonna talk about, you know, what we do in in the classroom, but um, you know, when I entered, we we really increased our numbers and it the data is really mind-blowing of how well we did last year with getting into classrooms, which is not an easy feat.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Let's dive into that a little more when you say increase your numbers. Like, what are the measurables to show that 3G NY like really made an impact?
SPEAKER_01Sure. So part of my job as an education and outreach coordinator is there are two facets of the job. It's the coordinating piece. So, for example, if schools come to us and say we need a speaker, I helped coordinate those presentations. But I was also the outreach um coordinator, which means if a district is unsure about having a speaker come in, they would meet with me kind of like we're doing now on Zoom. And I would have to, you know, I say schmooz, but you know, try to get them to, you know, understand what we do and get us to come in, but also reaching out to new districts that we don't have a relationship yet, right? So we like, for example, Marlborough had never had us in yet. So I was able to get us in. So the measurables that we look at are how many presentations we've done, how many schools we visited. And those are different because sometimes, for example, a school will have us come in and do four presentations, but then other schools will have us come in and do one big assembly. So we do measure them separately. We also look at how many students total we've spoken to, and we also look at the grade levels, like you know, like with the 10th grade increase. So we look at all different things, but I'll give you an example. So the year before that, we spoke to around 16,000 students total. And when I say we, all of New York area, so including upstate and Long Island plus New Jersey, so 16,000 students. Last year we spoke to almost 27,000 students.
SPEAKER_00Wow. Which is a huge increase. Yes.
SPEAKER_01Yes. We did 482 presentations in 203 schools. So we really our numbers went up significantly. And that's not just because of me. I'm not, I'm not gonna take credit. We have a Long Island coordinator and we have an upstate coordinator who are excellent. Uh Janie Pashman and Eileen Angelini, and they and the three of us really were a great solid team. And I it's very I'm very proud of it because we we the more students who are hearing these stories, hopefully the more we're fighting anti-Semitism and hatred, right?
SPEAKER_00So and the other two coordinators, are they also 3Gs?
SPEAKER_01So Janie is a 3G, um, and Eileen is actually um an Italian Catholic, but she um has her PhD in Holocaust studies and and French and French uh studies as well. So she um is very passionate about the subject and has been involved for you know decades. So it's really cool to have an ally on the team and to have a perspective of somebody who also is not Jewish or a 3G, and she gets us a lot of connections with with groups that maybe we would have never spoken to, right? Which is pretty nice.
SPEAKER_00That's awesome. I'm so happy to hear that. You know, sometimes we just we Jews and we can be very bitter and cynical. Sometimes we just assume that, oh, well, everybody hates us and we're all on our own. And that is that is not the case. Um just that's um Angelini you said her her last name is. I'm giving I'm giving her a shout-out right now because thank you. We love everyone. You know, I'm I'm thrilled to hear that. All right. So yeah, so you were part of a team that really helped to increase, you know, the exposure of a lot of students, I mean 27,000 students, you know, to Holocaust education and stories and you know, learning lessons of you know tolerance and diversity. That is that is really terrific. I just assume that your organization and in your experience, it's more effective to have presentations to smaller groups as opposed to like one large assembly. Am I am I right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So we try to do small groups when we can because it is more intimate. The kids also feel more comfortable asking questions, right? In a smaller assembly. But, you know, sometimes with like scheduling or depending on where the school is. Like, for example, we had a school um in Manasquan rec like request us for their ninth grade. And Manasquan, it's not that easily, you know, it's 30 minutes from us, but it's not as close. Um, and it depends where our speakers are, right? So we have a large population of speakers in like Essex County, you know, that area. Um, we have a few in Bergen County and then a few in Monmouth. So like it's kind of spread out. And we do our presentations virtually as well. So that does help us with reaching all different um parts of the country or parts of New Jersey or New York, but it depends on where we're going as far as like a big assembly. And on top of everything else, it also depends on the population of the students. So sometimes, you know, certain schools will say, Well, we can't do a big assembly because these students are really behavioral. And if we put 600 kids in an assembly, you're not gonna reach anybody, right? But then there's schools that are like 300 kids, they're gonna be great. So it also depends on that as well. There's a lot of factors.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, it makes sense. How is it different, do you think, teaching Holocaust lessons to kids, especially even like, you know, I'd love to know what's like the youngest age kids that you know you've worked with, with 3G N Y and 3GNJ. As opposed to adults, what are what are some of the similarities and differences? That's a great question.
SPEAKER_01So before I came to 3G NY, most of the presentations, I would say on average were eighth grade and up. So eighth grade through, you know, adults. We speak to adults as well. And when I came with my elementary school experience, I said to them, you know, fourth and fifth grade read number the stars, like a lot of these schools. And sixth and seventh grade are reading Daniel's story, or, you know, you know what I mean? They're reading these books. I said it's kind of like an untapped, I don't call it market, but untapped like group of kids who we haven't reached as much yet. And to be honest with you, reaching them like in fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh grade is pretty powerful because you're reaching them at like a young, more impressionable age before they're on TikTok or social media where it is very poisonous and we can talk about that. And so we have a few speakers who are actually trained to speak at the younger grades. When I say that I take my presentation and I edit it so that they're getting the content and the story, but they're not getting the maybe the gore or the scarier parts that like maybe in uh for mature reasons, maturity and developmentally, we have spoken as young as fourth grade. And then again, through adults. Now, when we speak to younger students, I think the focus is, and that could be for Holocaust education worldwide, is the focus on kindness and being an upstander, right? So that, you know, like I talked about before, those small acts of kindness or standing up to hatred, standing up to bullying. If you see somebody, even as a smallest, like if you see somebody at recess who doesn't have anybody to play with, go ask them to play, right? Be kind. And when I speak to them, I tell them, do this in honor of grandpa Oscar. And I get letters, stacks and stacks of letters that they'll have the kids write me cards or letters after the fact, the younger kids, and they'll say what it meant to them or like what they learned. And it's beautiful when I get these letters because it's just so pure, you know?
SPEAKER_00They get that's such a, I mean, you're an educator, that's such a great educational tool to have the kids follow up to express their appreciation of of you and your presentation, but also to reinforce those values that you're trying to teach of, you know, kindness and tolerance and diversity. So that's really great. Great, good for those teachers.
SPEAKER_01Yes. And and so as they get older, you know, there's a lot more challenges that we face as far as talking to these groups of students. Um, one of the challenges I think I spoke about before is social media. So eighth grade and up, it's either social media or maybe like their family values, and we're kind of fighting against that, right? So, what are they learning at home? What are they seeing on TikTok? Um, what's in their algorithm, as we call it, right? And so things that come across that is a lot of misinformation or propaganda for um anti-Semitism, anti-Jew, anti-Israel. I mean, it's we're we're fighting an uphill battle um at the upper grades. We, when we go in to talk about our grandparents, we will say, we are here to talk about our grandparents. I'm an expert on my grandfather. I'm not an expert on world politics, right? I'm not an expert on the conflict in the Middle East. Like if someone asks me a question, because I'm not there to talk about that. I'm there to talk about my grandpa and his story, right? And so it gets a little bit trickier at the upper grades, but the lessons, though, are still the same, right? So we still want them to, you know, stand up to hatred, maybe just in a different way, all right, or be kind to each other. Um, and that might look different, right, in high school versus like elementary school, but the lessons are pretty similar. And I think the way that teachers prep their students or or debrief from our lessons are also different at the upper grades. And unfortunately, although New Jersey has a Holocaust mandate, right? That all schools have to teach about the Holocaust, they teach about it very differently. I mean, you could have a social studies class that does one lesson during world history on the Holocaust, and that's all they've learned.
SPEAKER_00Right. They just want to just want to check the box, right?
SPEAKER_01And then we give our talk, and then afterwards the teacher does nothing with it. Okay, so that's not as an authentic experience versus you have other schools that they've done a whole elective on Holocaust and genocide studies. They've seen our presentation. They afterwards they do a whole writing assignment about what they learned. I mean, it so it does depend on the teacher as well. And so that's a challenge that we face also. Now, if a teacher only has one lesson to do the Holocaust and they also bring me in, that's way better than the kids would have gotten if they didn't have us come in, right? So that's a that's a plus as well. So I don't know if that answered your question. I know I've talked a lot, but I could talk about this for a long time.
SPEAKER_00But yeah, I know I can tell. Absolutely. You probably know, and we I don't want to get too much into this, but you probably know that just a couple of weeks ago we had a major, you know, incident of anti-Semitism here in our community at uh with students, a few students from Manalepin high school. Um, they posted on Snapchat some really, really ugly comments about Jews, and it went viral and caused a huge uproar. That is unfortunate. And also something very similar happened at the middle school, also in Manalepin, the town next to Marlboro. Marlboro has also had plenty of incidents in the middle school. I was proud, and Wendy, you were a part of this, that you know, last year we had a major Holocaust education exhibit at Marlborough Middle School, both of the middle schools in Marlboro. I thought that was a great accomplishment. I was very happy uh that the you know school board here and the superintendent here were very receptive to that. And I have to say, um, in fairness, the administration with the situation in Menalpin has also been receptive and is taking the issue very seriously. But you're definitely right about social media. Unfortunately, just anybody has a megaphone on social media. They can just spew whatever hatred they want. Or fortunately, you know, a lot of people will spread, you know, goodness and love and understanding, but there's so many people who just want to get those those likes. And then it's so much easier to get attention when you yell and scream and spread angry prejudice. So I know I just rambled a lot. Um it's gonna say 100% frustrating.
SPEAKER_01I actually um so I've been um meeting with the Freehold Township um administration because our program, 3G New Jersey, is going to be a part of the education plan. Oh, wow. For the entire district. Um, also hopefully all six high schools will be receiving stories from either third generation, so 3G New Jersey or 2GNJ, which is an organization. So for second generation to tell their story. So we are a part of the plan. So I've been in talks with them and I'm also um going to be meeting with Menalpin Middle School um tomorrow, actually, about any sort of incident that's happened there. So I am proud that I am becoming a name that people connect with when there's things that happen, and I feel like I'm really honoring my grandfather in some major ways because it is so close to home.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you you are definitely honoring your grandfather's memory by just speaking out. You are one of the holy warriors, you know. I don't want to overstate it too much, but you give me hope because sometimes, you know, especially with this recent event, I I just get so frustrated. Just seems like, well, what are we supposed to do? Like you said, with TikTok and Insta, the algorithms just feed you whatever they think you want to see based on your your history. And you help me to remember that, you know, you just gotta we just gotta keep going, be resilient, like Oscar Kukerman. So you gotta keep pushing. That's I think what we're commanded to do as Jews, also.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I was just about to say that we we are we are very much a people of love and forgiveness and light and education. And, you know, again, not to get political, but I we talked about this uh with a a a couple of um my friends who are grandchildren. If you if you just look at any sort of rally for for Israel, or it's just such it's full of light and love, and it's just such a a wonderful thing to watch and to be a part of, and that's just who we are as a people, right? And so when we have these anti-Semitic incidents locally or when I see them, I too get very frustrated. And, you know, listen, I'm not gonna lie to you, sometimes I scream, I cry like on my own, you know, in my house, and I just I I really get mad. But I also remember that education is super powerful. And if I can educate a group of a hundred students, right, and I always say that if I reach five of them and really affect their life and and really stick with them, then I've done my job. And I can tell you there have been kids over the years who said, Grandpa Oscar has changed my life. I think about him all the time, or I've actually had a student write their college essay about how he changed their life. Like it is, it is there and it's powerful. Um, and so that's what keeps me going. It's like those five or small group of students that really I hit for them and not just the Jewish kids, the non-Jewish kids that I got these letters from, you know, or like the diverse populations that I go speak to. It's it's really very meaningful. And I so I know it's working. I just have to keep pushing.
SPEAKER_00That's right. And you're right. I mean, it's you make a difference for as many students as you can, and you're not gonna reach everybody, but you made a difference. It reminds me of the story of, you know, the starfish. Uh, just quickly, the kid is on the beach, he's holding one starfish, and there's just hundreds of starfish, you know, sort of washed up on the shore, and he uh throws it back into the ocean, and a man says to the kid, Well, why even bother? I mean, there are hundreds of starfish. How can you make a difference? And the kid just looked at him and said, Well, it made a difference to that one. And that is also a Jewish concept. I mean, we believe that every act of kindness and positivity, every single act makes a difference.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00And that's what motivates us to keep doing those things because every every positive act helps to repair the world, make it the place that God intends. We partner with God in this ongoing process of creation when we do meets vote commandments and when we do acts of kindness. All right. Well, Wendy Tepper, this has been great. So I I'm gonna make a commitment to come and see you in action so I can hear the whole Oscar Kukerman story. And I just want to say to everybody who's listening that I'm also excited that on November 9th, which is a Sunday afternoon, uh Marlboro Jewish Center is hosting an award-winning documentary film that features Holocaust survivors and their grandkids, 3Gs. And we'll also have one of the people in this documentary film, um, a survivor with her grandson and the director of the film, all doing a QA after the film. So that's on November 9th, 4 p.m. So I think that'll be of interest to 3Gs and to everybody. Um, it should be a really special afternoon.
SPEAKER_01And can I can I say one more thing before we go?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, sure.
SPEAKER_01So 3G New Jersey, um, as the rabbi said before, is a an affiliate of 3G New York. And um, we have a pretty hefty goal this year of trying to do 93 presentations from 78 last year. So we're going to go up. And so if anyone listening has a connection in a school district or any sort in a Hebrew school, any any connection where we can go speak, a company that could benefit from hearing a grandchild, we come and speak for free. So it is totally no cost, and it it really does change the lives of whoever you speak to. And we just hope to spread the love and the lessons that our grandparents you know taught us. So thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_00You're welcome, Wendy. You heard everybody. Let's get these, let's make sure we keep spreading uh this positivity, these stories of really resilience, bravery, faith, and love, like Wendy's grandfather, Oscar. So, everybody, that's all for today. Thank you so much for listening. Wendy Tepper, just a pleasure to have you on the program. Everybody have a great day, great night, and peace out.