Customer Reviews

Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As far as I know, this book was the first collection of Hasidic responses to the Holocaust to make it out of the "Jewish literary ghetto" and into the mainstream, where it remains a popular read in both Jewish and non-Jewish theological circles. It was also the first collection of stories about Jews who did NOT lose their faith during the Holocaust (most of them, anyway -- there are one or two exceptions in the book.) Prior to this, religious Jews in the Holocaust were portrayed by the media as as "cowards who didn't fight back" rather than the religious martyrs that they were. (Most typical of this anti-religious period is the infamous line from the movie version of Leon Uris's EXODUS: "The only god I believe in is a gun.") I won't go into the politics of it here, but, suffice it to say, the post-Holocaust Zionist movement was more interested in freedom fighters than saints.

The Hasidim, however, had a different view of their suffering during the Holocaust. God had not deserted them, even if He seemed hidden in a time of darkness. The Hasidim were telling their own Holocaust stories around the Sabbath table or at community gatherings but, because most of this telling was oral and in Yiddish, it was unknown to the general public. Enter Yaffa Eliach. As a professor of English literature at Brooklyn College, she began hearing these tales from her students. Brooklyn College had/has a high percentage of Hasidic students and, through them, Eliach got to know their parents and other Holocaust survivors, including some of the Hasidic Rebbes. The result is a fine collection of true Holocaust stories that will forever change the way you view Hasidic Jews. Courage, as this book demonstrates, doesn't always mean grabbing a gun. It can also mean hiding a child, sharing your food when you yourself are starving, or meeting death with your human dignity intact. To maintain one's faith under such adversity, to continue studying Torah and doing the mitzvahs even in a concentration camp -- these were acts of true resistance that shine through every page of this book. I give it ten stars!

i must say that I am surprised that no reviews I have come across so far adress what appears to me this books most remarkable feature: Its power of inspiring faith. In fact, I would site this book as one of the most concrete proofs of the existence of God in print. Stories of the divine powers that are granted to the compassionate, the devout, and the faithful surpass all description. Please read this book, I treasure it like a scripture, and the courage, profound faith, and integrity of its characters burns in the heart like fire. i have never wept like I wept when I read these simple stories for the first time, and I continue to draw bittersweet emotional sustainance everytime I read and re-read its pages. There is too many brilliant anecdotes to choose examples, But as I write I remeber the story of the boy whose friend apparently died in a forced labour factory. The young man was piled in the frigid cold of night in a pile of corpses after a terrible illness had left no sign of life in him. The grandfather of the boy kept appearing in his friends dream to tell him the his friend must be "woken up". After the third dream, the youth was more frightened of the dream than of risking his life to escape to where the dead were piled to investigate. The youth found his friend amid the corpses, and when he repeated the granfather's invocation to "wake up", he indeed stirred! The story concludes with the boy warming his friend, bringing him to safety, and survival. It is marvelous and breathtaking to discover that these miraculous and spellbinding stories occurred in the darkest heart of humankind's darkest hours, and that they have been compiled in this manner is a fitting tribute to is subjects.

The gold standard by which Holocaust literature is judged is Elie Wiesel's Night/Dawn/Day trilogy. If that is 24k this is 22k gold. Does that mean 4 or 5 stars? I'm no mathematician, only a humble mechanical engineer, so I gave it 4 stars, on the grounds that Amazon.com predicted I would!
These tales are mostly short and so, emminently readable. Above all, one remains in my mind. It is the story of little Shachne Hiller, Mr. and Mrs. Yachowitch, and a young Polish priest. Schachne is 4 years old when he is given up by his Jewish parents into the care of the dutiful and trustworthy Catholic Yachowitchs. The Hillers are careful to instruct the Yachowiths that they wish Shachne to be brought up Jewish. Time passes and the Yachowiths come to love little Schachne dearly. Mrs. Yachowitch takes the little boy to a young priest, explains the situation and asks that the boy be baptized. The young priest refuses. That priest, who is Karol Wojtyla refuses and eventually becomes Cardinal and is then elected Pope. The boy comes to America, becomes a successful businessman and a devout Jew. According to the Grand Rabbi of Bluzhov, Rabbi Israel Spira, "God has mysterious, wonderful ways unknown to men. Perhaps it was the merit of saving a single Jewish soul that brought about his election as Pope. It is a story that must be told."
As for the rest of the stories, I was brought the point of tears by some, rendered incredulous by others, and rarely if ever bored by any. This is great book and highly recommended by a tough grader.

As a folklorist, I make my living studying the way people tell stories and cope with life through creativity. Eliach has gathered a superb collection of stories that will alternately amaze you, break your heart, and leave you with a deep admiration for the tenacity of the human spirit.

This inspiring book is one of the best books writeen on the Holocaust. I read the book every year on Tisha B'av, the Jewish day of national mourning and never cease to be amazed, inspired and touched by the myriad of stories in this wonderful book. This copy is being given as a token of appreciation o someone I wish to thank.

Yaffa Eliach is to be commended for collecting and publishing these tales. They tell stories of Jews who despite horrible trials and sufferings kept their faith in God, and their decency as human beings. The paradox is often that only when human beings are subject to the worse trials do they reveal their greatness. These stories are stories of inspiration not only for Jews but for all of mankind.

Amazing tales. Some seem to border on fable, while others are far too real. An excellent resource for translating overwhelming numbers into simple, intimate, human tragedies.

A remarkable tale of Hasidic (Ultra-Orthodox) Jews and the miracles that happened to so many in spite of the ravages of the Holocaust.

A mix of prose and poetry, tears and turbulence, you'll want to read it from cover to cover.

One of the great pieces of literature related to one of the worst times in modern history.

Michael

A powerful and compelling testament to the unsung heroes of the Holocaust - the men and women that did not allow the horrific conditions to dampen their love of G-D. A must read.

"For there is nothing more wholesome in this world than a broken Jewish heart in a concetration-camp uniform."

This final sentence in the chapter "Tipping the Scales of Justice" is one of the many passages that broke my heart in this book.