[Dean's World] Ron Coleman: Choose life, redux
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Tue Sep 11 19:49:42 EDT 2007
Posted by Ron Coleman:
Choose life, redux
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1189554433.shtml
[Binding_of_Isaac.jpg]
An email from Shira Leibowitz Schmidt of [1]Jewish Media Resources (I
have added translations): In my work as a translator I came across
this moving account by Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Meisels of his blowing the
shofar in Auschwitz. I excerpted, abridged and translated the chapters
from the preface to his book, Mekadshey Hashem ("Sanctifiers of God's
Name"). The preface is included in the Hebrew CDROM put out this year
by the Michlalah-Jerusalem containing memoirs collected by the
historian Esther Farbstein from over 100 prefaces by
Holocaust-surviving rabbis. While the memoir is tragic, it is also
moving and, in the end, hopeful....
The story is long, so I have put it
[2]here.
Chapter 6 - Blowing the Shofar in Auschwitz
One of the transports out of the camp is seared in my memory for
another important reason. With the grace of HASHEM I was miraculously
able to bring a shofar into the camp. On the first day of Rosh
Hashanah I went from block to block with the shofar in hand to blow
it. This put my life in danger and I had to avoid the Nazis and
malevolent Kapos, and I bless HASHEM that I was graced with His mercy
and compassion and was privileged to sound the one hundred shofar
blasts that Rosh Hashanah some twenty times. This revived the spirits
of the unfortunate camp inmates and gave them some peace of mind
knowing that at least they could observe one mitzvah in Auschwitz -
that of shofar on Rosh Hashanah.
The transport of about one thousand souls was sent from the camp on
the first day of Rosh Hashanah towards evening. Because of the
preparations for the trip and the confusion, they could not hear the
shofar. The transport was at the edge of the camp near the gate, ready
and waiting to leave the camp. When I reached them with Rabbi R.
Mendele I told them I had a shofar with me, and they were brimming
with joy and begged me to blow the one-hundred sounds quickly so they
could fulfill the mitzvah before the gate opened and they would be on
their way to who knows whereâ¦.
I can still hear reverberating in my ears the sobs that burst forth
from those thousand people during the [shofar blasts]. I especially
remember the trembling voice of the well-known hasid who announced the
sounds before I blew them. He was Rabbi Yehoshua Fleischman, may
HASHEM avenge his death, from Debrecin, Hungary, who called out the
notes in a piercing wail: [the notes] tekiah, shevarim-teruah, tekiah.
I could barely concentrate properly and at that moment I understood
the commentary four centuries earlier by Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz (Hashla
Hakadosh) of Prague on tekiah, shevarim, teruah. He explained that is
as if the sound is originally long and straight, a tekiah, but the
sound itself breaks down into shevarim
and teruah, just as our holy Jewish congregations that were previously
so straight and upright, were now breaking asunder. But just as the
series of sounds ends with a simple, straight tekiah, so too we
beseech HASHEM that we shall return to wholeness and heal, and that
the crooked be made a straight, simple tekiah and that we may be
redeemed soon.
Chapter 7 - Tekiat HaShofar for Hundreds of Youths before the
Crematoria
The boys who were locked in the block and were about to be sent to the
crematoria found out that I had a shofar. I heard shouts and
entreaties emanating from their block imploring me to come to them and
sound the one hundred blasts of the shofar so they could fulfill this
precious mitzvah on Rosh Hashanah in their last moments of life,
before they would be martyred for Kiddush HASHEM [Sanctification of
God's Name].
I was beside myself and completely confounded, because this involved a
tremendous risk since it was nearing twilight, a dangerous hour, and
the Nazis would be coming to take them. If the Nazis would suddenly
show up while I am in there with the youngsters, no doubt they would
take me to the crematoria as well. The Kapos, so famous for their
ruthlessness, would not let me escape. I stood there weighing the
situation and trying to decide what to do. It was very doubtful that I
should take the risk to blow the shofar for the boys in such a
dangerous situation, and it was not clear that the risk would be
justified even if there were some doubt about the danger. But the
youths bitter supplications were heart-piercing. âRebbe, rebbe! Please
for the sake of HASHEM have pity on our souls. We beg you to enable us
to observe this mitvah in our last moments.â I stood there immobile. I
was all alone in my decision.
In addition to my doubts as to where it was justified to take the
risk, my dear son Zalman Leib stood next to me, and he too entreated
me with bitter sobs. âFather, father! Donât do this and endanger
yourself because this may turn me into an orphan, and leave me
stranded and alone. Father, father! Donât go, donât enter that block.
You arenât obligated to take the risk. You already blew the shofar so
many times, and each time you put your life on the line. You have done
more than enough.â He went on beseeching me not to accede to the boy's
request. When I gazed at my son, pity and compassion welled up in me
and I saw that he was technically correct.
But on the other hand the bewailing of the boys gave me no peace and
aroused in my heart tremendous compassion for them. Maybe this mitzvah
will give them some protection during the difficulties that lie ahead.
I was bewildered. A number of hasidim and other inmates awoke due to
the boysâ bawling and they added their voices to the pleas of the
youths, saying that there was still much of time left, and I would be
able to go into their barracks and exit in time, and that someone who
is going to do a mitzvah engenders some protective defense.
I reached a decision. Come what may, I cannot turn the boys away. I
will ignore the pleas of my dear son. I immediately started
negotiating with the vile Kapos who didnât want to allow me to enter.
I thought soon it will be to late, and I wonât have another chance to
blow for the boys. So eventually, after some of the other men there
interceded, and a sizeable bribe was collected and offered, the Kapos
acquiesced to our request but warned me twice that if the bell at the
gate sounded, meaning that the S.S. were coming to the camp, then my
fate would be sealed along with the boys in the block, because by no
means would the Kapos then allow me to leave.
I accepted their conditions and went into the youths. But beforehand I
told my son Zalman Leib to stand in the street and watch the gate from
a distance. If he sees the S.S. men coming he should run and alert me
immediately and I will leave the block even if I am in the middle of
the tekiot [notes].
If truth be told, my decision was probably at variance with the strict
halachah [i.e., Jewish law] which rules that you do not endanger
yourself, or even put yourself slightly at risk, to perform the
mitzvah of shofar. But my underlying reasoning was that either way â
whether I sound the shofar or I donât â I did not have much of a
chance to survive. Who knew in Auschwitz how much more time he had to
live? Day in, day out, we saw before our eyes thousands of our fellow
Jews murdered and burned, or collapsing in the fields from slave
labor. Our lives were not worth a penny. This was the main reason I
put myself at risk, even though I knew that there was no strictly
halachic justification.
Chapter 8 - Sermon before Blowing the Shofar
Where is the pen, and where is the writer who could possibly put on
paper my inner feelings when I entered the block. It is a miracle that
my heart was not splintered into pieces when I saw the dozens of
youthful eyes and heard their terrible sobbing. With tears burning and
voices beseeching to the heavens, they pushed to reach me, to kiss my
hand, to touch my clothes. All the time bewailing, âRebbe, rebbe! Have
mercy, have mercyâ and similar pleas that your ears cannot suffer to
hear. Some of them were my students, and others were from my town.
When I began to recite the prayer preceding the shofar blowing, Min
Hameitzar, âFrom the depths do I cry out to HASHEM,â they exploded
into a cry and demanded that I give them a derashah [sermon]. They
insisted on a sermon and would not even let me continue the prayer. I
was so stunned and moved that I was mute, my tongue clung to my
palate, and I could not open my mouth. I was also afraid that if there
were any further delay this window of opportunity would be closed.
Dusk would soon settle and the ensuing danger would be great.
But I acquiesced to their pleading and began a sermon on the verse
from Psalm 81, âBlow the shofar at the moonâs removal, at the time
appointed for our festive dayâ emphasizing how much has been removed
from our lives and taken away. The despicable oppressors took away our
families. What will be our end? Who will come out of here whole?
HASHEM is to a great extent now hidden from us. I reminded them that
the Talmud teaches (Brachot 10a) that âeven when a sword dangles at
your throat, you must not despair of Divine mercy.â
Chapter 9 Last Words Before the Crematoria
I must continue relating what happened, so that future generations
will know the great devotion and holy words I heard that day from
those teenagers in the moments before they were taken to their deaths.
After I sounded the tekiot I tried to go outside. One boy stood in my
way and uttered a mournful cry, âFriends, the Rebbe gave us
encouragement; even when a sword dangles at your throatâ¦..â The
others responded amidst their tears with a resounding [3]Shema
Yisraelâ¦
When I left a few boys followed me. With tears streaming down their
faces they asked whether I had some morsels of bread, a kâzayit, the
minimum amount considered in halachah as a meal in order to fulfill in
their last moments another mitzvah â- that of the festive meal of Rosh
Hashanah. In the twenty-four hours since they had been locked in their
block they had not eaten or drunk anything. According to halachah it
is forbidden to fast on Rosh Hashanah. I was crestfallen that I had
nothing to give them and I would not be able to come to their block
again. This was a bitter day for them, all the more so because in
addition to everything else, they were forced to fast on a festival as
they were being taken to the pyre. May HASHEM soon avenge their
deaths.
I can see in my mindâs eye and hear again what happened that terrible
Rosh Hashanah: young boys with strength of character and bravery who
sanctified HASHEMâs name in public with great clarity of mind. I
understand why the â[4]binding of Isaacâ is read on Rosh Hashanah and
why the [5]midrash says it took place on this day. For generations
this day has been dedicated for kiddush Hashem [sanctification of
God's Name] in public with the mesirut nefesh [self-sacrifice] and
dedication that characterized the binding of Isaac on the altar. These
youths sanctified themselves, and sanctified HASHEM in the most
dignified way. That is an example for us all. From the preface of
Mekadshey Hashem by Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Meisels (Meislish) which is
included in the collection of prefaces containing Rabbinic Memoirs of
the Holocaust, on the CD ROM entitled âKorot HaShoah bâMevuot Lâsifrut
Harabanit.â
To conclude on a positive note â it seems to me that the sounding of
the shofar was not only a mitzvah, but it was also an act of defiance
that said to the world that traditional Judaism is still alive, and
will survive; that the oppressor will not be able to extinguish the
spirit of the people of Israel and their devotion to HASHEM. This
tekiah was in fact a spiritual uprising and rebellion. -- Shira
This was translated from the Hebrew CDROM (produced by the
Michlalah-Jerusalem) containing over a hundred prefaces collected by
Esther Farbstein from works by Holocaust-surviving rabbis. It can be
obtained at [6]http://www.talsys.net/?d=p/34 or through the Michlalah
at Zachor [7]http://zachor.michlalah.edu/english/
It is hoped that if funding will be forthcoming, we will be able to
translate the CDROM into English.
([8]hide)
References
1. http://www.jewishmediaresources.com/
2. file://localhost/var/www/powerblogs/deanesmay/posts/1189554433.html
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shema_Yisrael
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_of_Isaac
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midrash
6. http://www.talsys.net/?d=p/34
7. http://zachor.michlalah.edu/english/
8. file://localhost/var/www/powerblogs/deanesmay/posts/1189554433.html
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