Learning
Shabbat made the Shtetl what it was.
I miss the Shabbat the most- it can never be replicated.Boston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Nov. 16, 1976
I miss the Shabbat the most- it can never be replicated.Boston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Nov. 16, 1976
The solution is not with diplomats.
It is with prophets, writers, philosophers, poets.Boston University class “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Sept. 13, 1976
It is with prophets, writers, philosophers, poets.Boston University class “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Sept. 13, 1976
Don’t identify with all, identify with one
If everyone of us could live with one of then it would be a victory.Boston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Nov. 16, 1976
If everyone of us could live with one of then it would be a victory.Boston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Nov. 16, 1976
Respect the other for the mystery the other contains.
Respect the other for what they understand and for what they don’t understand.Boston University lecture, final words, “ Legends of Our Times” Nov. 2, 2010
Respect the other for what they understand and for what they don’t understand.Boston University lecture, final words, “ Legends of Our Times” Nov. 2, 2010
Collaborating with evil is evil itself.Boston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Sept. 28, 1976
There comes a moment when there are no words
Words can diminish the weight of the experience
Silence is as important as the words.92nd St Y lecture, “ Faith and Power” Oct, 30, 2006
Words can diminish the weight of the experience
Silence is as important as the words.92nd St Y lecture, “ Faith and Power” Oct, 30, 2006
Holocaust and Memory
When you read these stories if you cry…
Cry not only for those who did or didn’t survive
Cry also for G-d who is the source of all tears and all joy.Boston University class, “ Hassidic Tales of the Holocaust with Yaffa Eliach” Oct. 30, 2007
Cry not only for those who did or didn’t survive
Cry also for G-d who is the source of all tears and all joy.Boston University class, “ Hassidic Tales of the Holocaust with Yaffa Eliach” Oct. 30, 2007
There is no answer to include in the story.
We have our wounded memory which God alone can, and must answer.Boston University lecture, “ Rebbe of Ger, Tragedy in Hasidism” Nov,1, 2010
We have our wounded memory which God alone can, and must answer.Boston University lecture, “ Rebbe of Ger, Tragedy in Hasidism” Nov,1, 2010
The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifferenceBoston University lecture, “ Rebbe of Ger, Tragedy in Hasidism” Nov. 1, 2010
After liberation, the first thing I did was say Kaddish. I then felt not alone- the moment you know the other exists, you’re not alone.Boston University lecture, “ Legends of Our Times” Nov. 2, 2010
The worst enemy is indifference
Despair is not the end but the beginning
It is not the answer, but the question
When you meet a survivor, think and feel.
Try to understand him or her
Studying the Holocaust can open up a thirst for humanity.
If you see suffering- you will do something
Not be indifferent
If there was such inhumanity – now can one not be human?
Descend into another dimension of an experience that should become yours.
The world betrayed us
The betrayal was total
The victims never became the killers
Elie Wiesel is afraid of telling the tale
A civilization that has seen, witnessed, survived these scenes is doomed unless we redeem it.Boston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Nov. 16, 1976
Despair is not the end but the beginning
It is not the answer, but the question
When you meet a survivor, think and feel.
Try to understand him or her
Studying the Holocaust can open up a thirst for humanity.
If you see suffering- you will do something
Not be indifferent
If there was such inhumanity – now can one not be human?
Descend into another dimension of an experience that should become yours.
The world betrayed us
The betrayal was total
The victims never became the killers
Elie Wiesel is afraid of telling the tale
A civilization that has seen, witnessed, survived these scenes is doomed unless we redeem it.Boston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Nov. 16, 1976
Why eyes? I always write about eyes. During the war Jews were recognized by informers by their eyes. Sad, Jewish eyes, deep suffering penetrates them.
Eyes do not remain the same after absorbing these words.
Nothing will be the same.Boston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Oct. 19, 1976
Eyes do not remain the same after absorbing these words.
Nothing will be the same.Boston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Oct. 19, 1976
Hope
Prayer is a link of fire, an offering
It brings you back to the beginning92nd St Y lecture, “ Personal Thoughts” April 18, 2002
It brings you back to the beginning92nd St Y lecture, “ Personal Thoughts” April 18, 2002
The world has always been in some kind of crisis
since Adam and Eve and their children92nd St Y lecture, “ A World in Crisis” April 15, 2010
since Adam and Eve and their children92nd St Y lecture, “ A World in Crisis” April 15, 2010
Jewish solidarity prevailed, the moment they found themselves among themselves they rebuilt a community on ashes. A Jewish fire began to burn.Boston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Oct. 5, 1976
What can be our answer? Despair?
Never an answer!
Despair is only a question.92nd St Y lecture, “ Maiden of Ludmir April 9, 2007
Never an answer!
Despair is only a question.92nd St Y lecture, “ Maiden of Ludmir April 9, 2007
I don’t believe in numbers. A people that survived 2000 years in exile and 2000 years before that can survive. I am an optimist.Boston University final class lecture Dec. 11, 2007
I don’t have the right to live in despair.
No one lives alone.
Everyone is my hope. Especially my students.Boston University final class lecture Dec. 11, 2007
No one lives alone.
Everyone is my hope. Especially my students.Boston University final class lecture Dec. 11, 2007
Faith and Belief
We can’t understand it but we have no choice but to accept God.
God gave us freedom to choose
Man chose to ignore us
A cultural Jew looks at the Holocaust and asks, not,
“ Where was God?” but asks “ Where was Man?”Boston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Nov. 16, 1976
God gave us freedom to choose
Man chose to ignore us
A cultural Jew looks at the Holocaust and asks, not,
“ Where was God?” but asks “ Where was Man?”Boston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Nov. 16, 1976
Oh God I no longer ask for happiness or paradise
Only to listen and rest; not to close me to gratitude
In friendship and loveClosing words 92nd St Y lecture, “ Why Pray?” April 14, 2015
Only to listen and rest; not to close me to gratitude
In friendship and loveClosing words 92nd St Y lecture, “ Why Pray?” April 14, 2015
I want only to understand
I am no longer seeking truth
All I want is to understandBoston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Nov. 16, 1976
I am no longer seeking truth
All I want is to understandBoston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Nov. 16, 1976
The killer’s diaries tell of meals and gaiety
They and we do not belong to the same species
We experienced the same things, saw the same thingsBoston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Nov. 16, 1976
They and we do not belong to the same species
We experienced the same things, saw the same thingsBoston University class, “ The Jewish Response to Jewish Persecution Nov. 16, 1976
Why Remember?
A person without a past is lost
You can always build a future but a past is lost unless you remember it.
Remember, go back, if you remember Abraham, Noah, Adam to God, you remember God.
Once you start forgetting, you forget you are human.Boston University class, “ Holocaust: Memory and Conscience Oct. 10, 1977
A person without a past is lost
You can always build a future but a past is lost unless you remember it.
Remember, go back, if you remember Abraham, Noah, Adam to God, you remember God.
Once you start forgetting, you forget you are human.Boston University class, “ Holocaust: Memory and Conscience Oct. 10, 1977
I confess
I am not satisfied by my own words
There are no words92nd St Y lecture, “ Anniversary of the Tragedy of the St. Louis April 8, 2010
I am not satisfied by my own words
There are no words92nd St Y lecture, “ Anniversary of the Tragedy of the St. Louis April 8, 2010