Exploring Historical and Intergenerational Trauma in the Jewish Experience with Rabbi Lynn Feinberg

Transforming Trauma

“It's about really getting into that experience of compassion for myself, my people, for our journey, for what it means to adjust within… all those different layers.” ~ Lynn Feinberg

In this "High Holidays" episode, Sarah Buino welcomes guest Rabbi Lynn Feinberg, the first female Jewish Rabbi in Norway, as well as NARM Practitioner, to reflect on her research into intergenerational trauma for second and third generation Holocaust survivors in Europe.

One of the tenets of NARM training is the idea that a practitioner must first attend to their own trauma before employing the model in practice with clients. For many, that means an exploration of patterns left-over from unresolved early trauma, including any cultural, historical or intergenerational themes.

Lynn, who is the daughter of a Norwegian Holocaust survivor, certainly has been on this journey. While she is a Norwegian citizen and lives in Oslo, she has spent time living abroad in Israel, Denmark and the US, and has focused professionally on advanced degrees in Judaism, psychology and feminist spirituality.

One of her main areas of focus is on belonging. Her current research is “really getting into that experience of compassion for myself, my people, for our journey, for what it means to adjust within [to] all those different layers.”

In NARM terms, Lynn says she had a “big aha” recognizing that this journey is about “disidentifying” from her historical trauma story. As she is currently writing her PhD thesis, she states “it’s also about bringing in a larger story so that your story can be held in a larger story. And the more you can contain that larger story, the more you can also relax in your own story.”

One of the challenges for Jews living for thousands of years in diaspora has always been the conflict between adaptation to modern ways versus adherence to traditional ways. Having lived and studied in the United States has allowed Lynn to compare and contrast how Jews in Europe and Jews in America have adapted differently to life post-Holocaust amidst undercurrents of antisemitic policy.

The episode concludes with Lynn comparing a cyclical view of intrapersonal and intergenerational healing against the Western notion of a singular, linear fix. “I think that's what's so brilliant with the NARM process,” she says, “is this seeing the hardship for what it is and recognizing the depth of it.”

Lynn has found NARM to be an ideal platform with which to explore deeper into her historical and intergenerational trauma and begin to “disidentify” from the unresolved trauma patterns, thereby reclaiming deeper authenticity within herself.

For the full show notes plus references and resources, visit us at http://www.narmtraining.com/transformingtrauma

ABOUT LYNN CLAIRE FEINBERG:

I am a historian of Religion and Rabbi presently working on a PhD at the University of Oslo.

In my thesis, I explore post-traumatic growth and trauma integration in children and grandchildren of Norwegian Holocaust survivors. During the course of my studies, I have completed the NARM training and apply some of the concepts learned through NARM in my approach to my interviews and analysis.

I am the daughter of a Norwegian survivor of Auschwitz, (my father) and grew up belonging to the very small post-Holocaust Jewish community of Oslo. This background has brought me on a life-long journey of exploring and seeking healing for my own C-PTSD. I have, therefore, chosen to include autoethnographic perspectives in my PhD work. I work as a Spiritual Director and include a NARM perspective in my work with clients.

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The NARM Training Institute provides tools for transforming complex trauma through: in-person and online trainings for mental health care professionals; in-person and online workshops on complex trauma and how it interplays with areas like addiction, parenting, and cultural trauma; an online self-paced learning program, the NARM Inner Circle; and other trauma-informed learning resources.

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