By Molly Kazan
"You cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it." These were the first words Molly Livingstone spoke to us, and they really are the crux of her message. The beginning of Molly's Israel narrative is one many of us can relate to: an American Jew who came on Birthright and fell in love with this country. After deciding to make Aliyah shortly after, Molly felt a deep sense of culture shock. Living in Israel proved to be more challenging than she thought it would be. Conflict, violence, and to top it all off, nobody knew how to pronounce "Molly" without it sounding like "Moo-lee." Using her wit and charm, she relied on her humor to get through these tough times. She created "Aliyah Anonymous," an improv group for new Olim, covering topics like terrorism, waiting in line at the post office, and the Holocaust. This may sound surprising, but as Molly puts it: "there's nothing funny about the Holocaust, but there's everything funny about surviving it." She told us a story about how Nazis would ask children in the Shoah to put on plays for them, and the children would put inside jokes into the plays. This, she explained, is the power of Jewish DNA. To turn tragedy, loss, confusion, and despair into comedy is a crucial part of who we are, and that is exactly what Molly strives to do each day as an Israeli comedian.
I don't know if I connect with Molly because she understands my "Moo-lee" struggle, because I grew up attending a camp called Livingston, or because of her signature ability to articulate thoughts and feelings through laughter. Nevertheless, Molly's words resonated with me. She visited us under the category of "Social Entrepreneur," and that is exactly what she is. She took the difficulty of being a new Israeli citizen and, with the help a creative coping strategy, made that difficulty itself her career. Her message to us was clear: be innovative, be creative, be open to failure, and be able to think differently. If you can do all of that, you're set. And always make 'em laugh.
