All Scents in Love and War

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I wasn't sure what to write about for this reading until yesterday. After class, I reread the last section of the reading from Tuesday and it gave me a lot to think about. The sentence "The aroma of victory and the stench of death, decay, and defeat are identical in terms of smell but represent opposite values..." struck a chord in me because of the atrocities currently occurring in Ukraine. What do bomb sites smell like, or burning bodies, or homes that have been abandoned by the people who once celebrated life there.

 https://nnc.com.ng/

One of my closest friend's entire family is from Ukraine and I remember what she told me after coming home from a three week long trip to visit her family there many years ago. Apparently, it is customary in Ukraine for visitors to be fed a lot and they cannot say no or else it is considered extremely impolite. My friend laughed as she remembered how much food was being given to them everywhere they went and how the "offering" of seconds wasn't really a question. The joke was how they were so full from the trip that they wouldn't be able hungry again for a month. The memory of her telling me that has been playing over and over in my mind. I can only imagine the amazing smells that once permeated the now many abandoned homes and how Ukrainians might never be able return to these homes and their culture. 

I saw a video of a father saying goodbye to his wife and daughter as he sent them to a safe zone. The father pressed his nose and face into his daughters hair. The importance of scent memory seemed crucial in this moment. The scents of love, friends and family have been replaced by death, decay, and gasoline from thousands of vehicles fleeing to safety. Never before have I considered the scent of victory in war and it is a horrific one.

Comments

  1. Violet WindhamFebruary 25, 2022 at 12:24 PM

    This is a really powerful post, Eliza. I saw the video of the father saying goodbye to his family, and my heart shattered. Your last sentence, "Never before have I considered the scent of victory in war and it is a horrific one" made me think about how disturbing, unsettling and completely traumatizing this conflict is for the people of Ukraine. Thank you for sharing your perspective

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  2. Jonathan Brumberg-KrausFebruary 25, 2022 at 12:57 PM

    I agree with Violet about your post. It's the pathos of the dramatically opposite emotional affects of the smells in the rabbis' interpretations and in your evocation of the good and horrific smells from Ukraine when you put them in mind side by side that make them so powerful.

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