I can admit that I am a bit of sci-fi geek. In my youth I loved Star Wars because of its magic, moralism, and mythology. Today I have come to truly enjoy Andor because it has none of these things. Beyond all of the Force stuff here we are exploring the midrash behind the Rogue One which is itself a midrash on the original movie ( #4 in the Canon). Just as in the original was a chapter out of Joseph Campbell‘s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, in this series we explore the Andor’s hero’s journey. What would make a normal person want to fight tyranny? Using the media of sci-fi framed in a discussion of a distant time and space it can be strangely relevant today. Clearly this is top of mind because the second season of Andor is about to be released.

In first season on Andor we saw the spreading of the “order” of the Empire as a growing fascism. And at the same time we see an emergence of the resistance. One of the characters that we meet as part of the resistance is Karis Nemik. He clearly is no fighter, but rather a prophet for their cause. In him they write a powerful voice for revolution. His manifesto reads:

There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy.

Remember this, Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they’ve already enlisted in the cause.

Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.

And remember this: the Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear.

Remember that. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empires’s authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.

Remember this: Try.

I know this might be seen of as sacrilegious, but I was thinking of these words of Nemik today, because today was Yom HaShoah. It is notable that today is not Holocaust Remembrance day. Today we commemorated Yom HaShoah , Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG’vurah -יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה,  ‘Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day’, on the day of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Today is the 82nd anniversary of the the day that Mordechai Anielewicz , who was the leader of the Jewish Fighting Organization led the Warsaw Ghetto uprising; the largest Jewish insurrection during the Second World War. This inspired further rebellions in both ghettos and extermination camps. His character was engraved as a symbol of courage and sacrifice, and to this day his image represents Jewish resistance during the Holocaust.

In 1968, the 25th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising,  Yitzhak Zuckerman, one of leaders of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, was asked what military lessons could be learned from the uprising. He replied:

Today we remember the day when one of these skirmishes, this moment of defiance, helped to flood the banks of authority. As Jews we do not curate our memory around our victimization, but rather, we choose to create memory around Jews who stood up against all odds tried to fight back. Sadly Anielewicz and Zuckerman are more relevant then ever. Hating Jews is one of the most consistent themes of history and so “unnatural”. Who will remember, rise up, and break the siege?