Real Talk: Mrs. Miryam Swerdlov leads Jewish girls from Auschwitz to Israel

[Music] hello real talkers Miram swer love has taught Jewish history at yiva high school for more than 30 years and directs a camp for American teenagers in Israel every summer her hugely popular tours of Israel and the former Soviet Union focus on the rich Jewish history of the locals Miriam brings personal warmth and laugh out loud humor to her lectures which are sprinkled with real life experiences she has lectured in Australia South Africa England France Russia the Ukraine Israel and all over the US and Canada and she's here with me in the studio so I'm so happy to welcome Mrs S love I'm so happy to be here this is this is incredible I'm so excited it's like having my teacher I don't know what's here I'm so happy to be here I'm so happy to be here I wanted you here because I wanted people to know about your knowledge your experiences and to teach us because we still need to be taught everybody me too everybody what are we supposed to do to bring mashiah very simple I just want to tell you that last week we had an Arab Zionist so just to show you how we go from one one Edge to the to the other and today we are in the heart of kabad I see you I see kabad I see kabad generation I see the you carry the kabad thank God name thank God thank God I want to start with where do you come from what's your family you come from a big family you want the whole thing yes um I usually don't say it but I will today um my mother imy mayosi uh was Ric's first cousin my grandfather and Thea's grandfather are brothers wow wow heart ofab on the line it's not heart of kabad it's It's Ence that's what it is yeah on the line of generations the rebba and I are on the same Seventh Generation from the AL incredible my father who uh that's my sense of humor I think who walked on canes but his point was and that's really the point with me I'll say it in Edition and I'll translate yeah take your canes in your hand and keep walking doesn't matter what your canes are some people their canes is 100 PB overweight that's a cane but keep walking go to a store that has better clothes for you don't look sloly just cuz you're overweight get dressed better if your cane is a lack of knowledge sit down and learn you said about this this woman last week who is say again she was a Arab Zionist yes so she's using her cane she's doing the best she can amazing and that's what it's about you had her last week she uses what she has you having me this week I'm using what I have you're using what you have right and that's the secret of everything I cannot use what that person over there has you know why cuz it's not mine right it's not me I have to be the best person that Miriam F basus who I am is right now I would love to look like you but it's not me what would happen really if I asked you for your hair and I put on all sorts of I would be so uncomfortable maybe I'd look better for but I would feel cuz it's not me right we have to become the best that we are otherwise we're cheap copies I hate cheap copies I you are the original I I I hope so for good and for bad yeah for both sides but each one of us is that be the best you can be don't copy anybody else if your passion like in your case is journalism go for it if your passion is fashion go for it if your passion is belly dancing oh I don't know but go for it is this what you were taught since you were a child with the rebbi with in your education to go for it go for it No Boundaries No Boundaries but I've always said within Tyra of course well yeah well that's one minute before we start anything else we have to understand that there is there is a box within data but the box is very very very very big right you could be anything within of course within I'm sorry we didn't say it at the beginning of course but thata always always encouraged us okay you did one two and three what about four five six and seven and when you got to seven and you were so excited to tell him you got to seven he said there are no more numbers and the minute he said that you said Okay I I guess I guess I have to do it and guess what happens you do it you can do it you know why cuz within you there is an AA there is a soul that says grow lady grow don't sit on your couch and eat bom bonss though though you could once in a while but only once in a while but grow go for it go for it the re was always pushing people to their to their M always always and really and truly believed and can I tell a secret believed in us can I tell a secret yeah believed in the women more than the men I think yeah definitely my husband was standing once on the other side of 770 when the women were and the children were going by and he saw the rebish face how the Reber looked at us and how the Reber looked at the men he said to me later Miriam do you realize that there's a vast difference I didn't cuz this is how he looked at us when we walked by the river his face was shining and he gave us so much you can do it yes you can do it you can do it you can do it I remember going by the riv before I went to a very difficult conference a very very I knew it wasn't going to be U easy gmir I knew it wasn't going to go and I walked by Rabbi Groner helped me and I said I'm going to a certain place I don't want to so Rabbi Groner said but you're donil donil is he went into the lion's den wow and and he came out and the looked at me and smiled and said yeah and handed me the dollar so I was denil and I really I really believed I was Dan it it was and I thought to myself s love you ain't Dan but you know what I was danil yeah cuz I was told that I could be I could be danil and when I woke up and realized I'm not the Neil it was already afterwards and I was the Neil the RAB was the first I think women the first Rabbi who was the first women Liberator was the first feminist I forgive me I don't like um the world's labels the re believed that every human being whether it be the mlim Zionist or the labid or anyone can do it you just have to push yourself one step more right I I I don't like labels that the world puts on Rebel wasn't the woman's Liberator the re believed that we can do what we have to do woman man child Muslim Christian doesn't matter he believed in the strength of humanity be the best at you can be believe in yourself not what somebody else thinks you should be yeah believe in who you are if you have certain strengths that's that's the sign that you should do it you lived before me long before me so you knew the Reb at the beginning which was the Reb of when I now we live in a times where the rabit has become a global image he's the rabit of humanity is it correct you're making me cry yeah because the world saw the truth cuz the world understood what's real the re isn't a Madison Avenue invention the rebit started what he was and just did what he believed in when the re sent out schim all over the world I I have a nephew in Nan Cambodia it's a very nice kid but that's all he is it listen if you hear me nephew yeah don't be upset I don't want to say names yeah but that's all he is he's a nice kid and he went on to n Nan Cambodia and he turned over nonen Cambodia or I keep telling my my girls in Camp they went to Berlin and they saw Rabbi Tel and he built an Imperia and I said to them Rabbi Tel came to Berlin he was a newlywed he didn't know a from B or C from D he just showed up he didn't know the language he didn't know the culture in Germany in Germany and look what he built because the rebba said go for it go for it yes you can yes you can someone once said to the Reber that he had a um I think it's called the deficit I think that was the word of $10,000 that I said $10,000 is but there a deficit you're not doing anything $10,000 is a deficit $10,000 means that you're not doing anything go for it a million dollars is a deficit because it means that you're building yeah what's $10,000 a deficit my kitchen is in $10,000 deficit before we eat supper no you understand $10,000 is deficit everything the re said is true we see it now re the news it's incredible now when I see it I think when it's concern we knew it we knew it I wanted to walk over to people and grab them by the shoulders say would you listen would you listen but the Reb spoke about mashiah and I am here to ask you we're living through such hard times such amazing times also I mean we've seen stories soldiers that are incredibly inspiring is mashiah Gonna Come is it gonna come for sure I have to know okay so there I go crying again sorry so sometimes at 4:00 in the morning when I'm not doing well and at 4:00 in the morning I don't do well if I wake up I used to say to God please don't wake me up in the middle of the night I don't do well in the middle of the night if Mah comes in the night no wake me up for that so sometimes at 4:00 in the morning when I'm not doing well I say one minute so so we're living we're living we're living a nontruth right we're living a non truth right I don't understand he could have come then and then and then and then and he didn't and look at our kids look at our children look at our soldiers we had this to go to a a a army base for women cuz I have girl campers they would have liked to go to a men's army base but I wasn't taking chances and I saw what these kids went through and I said to Hashem in my head and out loud what are you thinking what what what exactly are you waiting for for us to get better I don't know now so is mashia coming of course but he better hurry he has to hurry and we have to do we never know maybe it's this next little step so exactly what else can we do what else are we supped to just keep going you just have to keep going I know it's difficult you have just to keep going one year laich men wear G it's it's this for those of you that don't know what it is it's a a black uh crocheted belt that goes around the waist around the waist yes and I decided I I was going to make my husband a GLE in the summer yes knit nice it's as boring as all get out it's on a thin black silk and that ever had 26 stitches across so I did 26 stitches of B ing black silk that's love and I kept saying you're not going to make it to the end of the summer it's not going to be ready but every day I said one more inch one more inch and then I looked at the scle he's six foot tall and he once or twice three times around and I thought what are you doing you're never going to get it you never I didn't go to sleep until I had me 3 and 1/2 Ines a day done I told my girls ask me every night if 3 and 1/2 Ines were done and I had to do it so I did it one more Stitch one more Stitch one more Stitch you want to hear something sad I made it so long that when I came home I had a rip no yes yes yes gosh but I did it so you went over yeah yeah we have keep going you have to keep going you don't know how many times I said but then I said what's the matter with you you undertook something I'm allergic to not finishing a job I'm allergic to that I can't stand it cuz everybody can start yeah I'm going to do this and I'm going to do this and I'm going to do it lady don't tell me what you're going to do do it and when you're finished and it's done so I did it well you are 80 years old if I say almost I don't mind you are no it's my oldest great grandson Momo is 16 years old my great grandson I could beat this girl these girls almost they're 17 great grandmother incredible you teach you speak around the world and you take this group of girls in Camp and you just travel with them I mean I don't think I could do that neither can I neither can I I just do it you know they say that a be is the word AG I I don't know the a bee can't fly because her wings are lighter than her body but she doesn't know that she can fly so she just flies wow you just do it beautiful I cut down on many things my my daughter shui and her husband Rabbi T who everybody loves in Camp cuz he's so incredible they really do the day to day I come along for my looks I teach in the morning and I do something very nice every night it's called swirly moments for 10 minutes we discuss our day and what we found that day what little teeny weenie we need to keep our eyes open that's what it is the girls went through so many things we go through so many things and we don't notice them every night for 10 minutes we opened our eyes what today was a godsent how did you see Hashem today how did you see a miracle today I I tell the girls I'm sure crazy stories came out yeah yeah yeah I tell the girls instead of confidence we need to have godfidence godfidence what godfidence did you see today and it's so important not every everybody answers not everybody is a uh some girls are spectators and some girls are yeah not everybody is involved but everybody heard it and what did you see something beautiful today even if it was uh in Birkin now in owitz we did everything Berlin treson uh Czechoslovakia remind me the name of the city Prague Prague you've been an educator for a long time you've dealt with girls and girls of all ages I'm a mother there's so many like me and it's a different again it's a difficult time now it's you know especially bringing up teenagers what do you think it should be the main message to girls this age what do you transmit to them I wish I wish I really wish I would have done what I'm saying now cuz sometimes I didn't sometimes I thought I should walk around with dark glasses so that they don't see my reaction my eyes speak immediately that's not good we need to catch them doing something good always doing something good yes we need to catch them doing something good and we need to mention the thing that they did who you did this we do something in Camp which is I think it's brilliant every Friday night the girls given papers I caught it's printed before I caught with a blank so and so being an ases K this week being a woman of Valor and they wrote things like I saw mushki being a woman of Valor when she lent me her water that's it situ lend me her water but you know when somebody lends you the water when you need water that's a big deal amazing yeah or she helped me carry my suitcase just little narish kiten and every girl that was called up she got a bracelet a cheap little bracelet I bought hundreds of them on Amazon we have to catch the kids doing something good and when I was the ases KY of the week and you know I'm older than they are a little by just a little by 70 years almost yeah no 65 I was so excited I was so excited we caught Mrs word love being the as's K because she cares about us you don't know how good I felt oh this is the bracelet cute how do you keep your excitement still after so many years you don't get tired yeah sure sure what keeps you going I don't want to stay homeless sit on the couch and do GLE we have yeah yeah the gle's done I do knit um we have a m the grandmother of one of my grandchildren she's a hundred years old Mrs Mara wow Rosa maros of in Crown height she's 100 years old she came to every Chev bras to every single with her lady wield and I said to her CH Roa this is how we call Russians CH Roa wow you come to so she says I'll say it in vent what you want me to stay home and look at the walls I have where to go so I came I don't want to sit on my couch I do I do sit on my couch a lot but I'm want to keep going how much do you miss the other seeing the other oh god there I go again all the time a little bit a non kabad girl woman said to me he taught you to rely on someone else not on yourself fya not true he didn't teach us to rely on him he built us so we could rely on ourselves exactly but you don't know how often I want to say before this trip we were taking do they see this picture the course I was taking these girls to Europe to midic to to alwiz to krackow and then to Israel at not such a great time and I wanted to scream whatever tell me it's going to be okay you went to Kon what yeah Kon was easy there was worse yeah we were in Kon for chabas sure of course we were in Kon for chabas that that's a no that's a no-brainer what to be here and not to be in Kon for chabas and what I come for malal that was fun have good places to eat I wanted to go to the re and say re so we did we went to the next p place we went to the oill we asked for broa and I really feel look there we are but when you go to the you feel connected right yeah sure I'm saying You' been living with the RAB but you have to put in the work you don't feel connect exactly what I'm thinking I'm trying to say to people who want to feel connected and go to Dill but they need to be you have to you have don't tell me you didn't feel anything you didn't feel anything cuz you didn't do the work you have to to believe in something there's a wonderful story of rman gari went into the re it was before his operation and he said to the Reb I want the Reb to give me a br that the operation should go well so deba said to him why don't you ask that you shouldn't have to have the operation sir abari said yeah yeah yeah no so the says no no this you had to think of before you came in so that's what I tell you about the O go in there believing in something just not everybody thinks this is a magic place so now work here I is reab work your magic on me no no no I want to finish with a word that I love Yeah means over the top you can do it is that your Mot I guess so I'll tell you a story how long do I have because the story takes 5 minutes I'll cut I was uh 15 maybe less at 15 I sat shiver from my mother and it was rashash Shana and we were going to Tash and we started walking on Eastern Parkway the men were in the sidewalk and the women were on the parkway lab babich was so small then that all the men fit in between Kingston and Brooklyn the rebel walked in the front and the rebel walked like this we got to Botanical Gardens it was pouring po ring the little man in the bka closed the gate cuz why would anybody come here now but it was rashash we went to Tash and in the same gate as theba walked he walked up to the closed gate put one foot on one rung of the closed gate the other foot on the other rung of the closed gate that I was in the 60s and jumped over I didn't see it cuz we were the women but it taught me something there are no Gates get over it get over it you see a gate that means that you have to do something to open that gate get over it don't stand there and say okay I got till here and the gate is closed so I'm sorry there's nothing I can do no one foot another foot you know the people that went after the rber fell I was just about to ask you what happened to the people then the little the little fellow in the butka must have seen so we opened the gate but I learned something amazing I lost my mother that other and I learned get over it I'm not over it yet but keep going keep going anyone can stay home underneath their covers and keep you know that yes keep well you really gave me a boost of strength and and you know this so much work this was so fun amazing no there's no work no hadasa there is no work just do it one step at a time the GLE is one stitch at a time that's not work one stitch at a time when you get to the end of the line go back and do the next one and go back and do the next one and go back and do and in between sit down on the couch and have some Bon boms it's okay it's not so much work if we say it's a lot of work nobody's going to want to do anything no one teeny weeny step at a time thank you so much I L it it was so much fun it was amazing Anda for your incredible camp and you should keep doing this for 120 and more thank you let let's not overdo it thank you so much thank you as Mrs swov said keep going over the top thank you so much see you in the next one [Music]