#Elie wiesel day

[alyssalikestoreadbooks]

Day - Elie Wiesel

"The publication of Day restores Elie Wiesel's original title to the novel initially published in English as The Accident and clearly establishes it as the powerful conclusion to the author's classic trilogy of Holocaust literature, which includes his memoir Night and novel Dawn. "In Night it is the ‘I' who speaks," writes Wiesel. "In the other two, it is the ‘I' who listens and questions."

In its opening paragraphs, a successful journalist and Holocaust survivor steps off a New York City curb and into the path of an oncoming taxi. Consequently, most of Wiesel's masterful portrayal of one man's exploration of the historical tragedy that befell him, his family, and his people transpires in the thoughts, daydreams, and memories of the novel's narrator. Torn between choosing life or death, Day again and again returns to the guiding questions that inform Wiesel's trilogy: the meaning and worth of surviving the annihilation of a race, the effects of the Holocaust upon the modern character of the Jewish people, and the loss of one's religious faith in the face of mass murder and human extermination."

Read Date - July 2024

Length - 109 pages

Genre - Fiction, Historical, Holocaust

Rating - 5/10

Stars - ★★☆☆☆

Notes - The scene with the sailors was interesting, because Kathleen just wants to know is Elie loves her or not. The accident between Elie was really sudden and I didn’t expect it to happen. Elie questioning his religion is interesting because you never expect it. Either, him to be religious after the holocaust, or him NOT being religious at all. The in between stages are interesting as all hell. The sea scene with Elie talking to a stranger was heartfelt and it shows how certain people will never be able to accept him, and some of the things he’s said and done. This holds true, even today. The love between Kathleen and Elie is strong but pure. The sex scene was semi-toxic but what more could you expect from Elie Wiesel. I think the talk with the doctor was actually really cool and I liked his perspective of Religion and Medicine. The horrors of the Holocaust are also racked full in this novel, which is why I believe everyone should read it. It also show’s how Zionists believe/view Palestine, which is also important. The talk of love was very sweet, and I generally agree with the sentiment being made. The talks of pedophilia was extremely horrific and it’s terrifying to listen to it, knowing these are real stories. Kathleen falling ill was a sad storyline (real life, i know) The talk with Kathleen towards the end of the book where Elie promises to forget the past and think only about their love was different. It reminded me of flashbacks, but in a way i don’t relate to. The part with the artist was kinda cute and I like the truth behind it. The reveal that Elie could’ve avoided the cab was poignant and show’s the survivors guilt he’s suffering with. 

[eretzyisrael]

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we commemorate Elie Wiesel who survived the Holocaust and devoted his life to the memory of the Shoah and all those who perished.

May his memory be a blessing.

Source: facebook.com

[lostthenfoundmyself]

It is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Today marks 79 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp on January 27th, 1945.

I was born after the turn of the century. The Holocaust sometimes seems like it is long in the past. So I’m taking today to really think about how it wasn’t that long ago. 79 years. There are still Holocaust survivors alive today.

As the years go by and fewer and fewer survivors remain, the Holocaust becomes easier and easier to forget. But we must not forget. We can’t let this fade into a distant memory. We need to listen to the remaining survivors, read their words, and remember their stories. We need to understand the Holocaust not as dry events in a history textbook but as a visceral and horrifying reality that people lived and died through. In the words of Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor:

To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.

[kaytheday]

"Night is purer than day; it is better for thinking and loving and dreaming. At night everything is more intense, more true. The echo of words that have been spoken during the day takes on a new and deeper meaning. The tragedy of man is that he doesn't know how to distinguish between day and night. He says things at night that should only be said by day."

-Elie Wiesel, Dawn

[spacelazarwolf]

in honor of that anon who said jews have done nothing for the world, here’s a non exhaustive list of things we’ve done for the world:

arts, fashion, and lifestyle:

jeans - levi strauss

modern bras - ida rosenthal

sewing machines - isaac merritt singer

modern film industry - carl laemmle (universal pictures), adolph zukor (paramount pictures), william fox (fox film forporation), louis b. mayer (mgm - metro-goldwyn-mayer), harry, sam, albert, and jack warners (warner bros.), steven spielberg, mel brooks, marx brothers

operetta - jacques offenbach

comic books - stan lee

graphic novels - will eisner

teddy bears - morris and rose michtom

influential musicians - irving berlin, stephen sondheim, benny goodman, george gershwin, paul simon, itzhak perlman, leonard bernstein, bob dylan, leonard cohen

artists - mark rothko

actors - elizabeth taylor, jerry lewis, barbara streisand

comedians - lenny bruce, joan rivers, jerry seinfeld

authors - judy blume, tony kushner, allen ginsberg, walter mosley

culture:

esperanto - ludwik lazar zamenhof

feminism - betty friedan, gloria steinem, ruth bader ginsberg

queer and trans rights - larry kramer, harvey milk, leslie feinberg, abby stein, kate bornstein, frank kameny, judith butler

international women's day - clara zetkin

principles of journalizm, statue of liberty, and pulitzer prize - joseph pulitzer

"the new colossus" - emma lazarus

universal declaration of human rights - rene samuel cassin

holocaust remembrance and human rights activism - elie wiesel

workers rights - louis brandeis, rose schneiderman

public health care, women's rights, and children's rights - lillian wald

racial equity - rabbi abraham joshua heschel, julius rosenwald, andrew goodman, michael schwerner

political theory - hannah arendt

disability rights - judith heumann

black lives matter slogan and movement - alicia garza

#metoo movement - jodi kantor

institute of sexology - magnus hirschfeld

technology:

word processing computers - evelyn berezin

facebook - mark zuckerberg

console video game system - ralph henry baer

cell phones - amos edward joel jr., martin cooper

3d - leonard lipton

telephone - philipp reis

fax machines - arthur korn

microphone - emile berliner

gramophone - emile berliner

television - boris rosing

barcodes - norman joseph woodland and bernard silver

secret communication system, which is the foundation of the technology used for wifi - hedy lamarr

three laws of robotics - isaac asimov

cybernetics - norbert wiener

helicopters - emile berliner

BASIC (programming language) - john george kemeny

google - sergey mikhaylovich brin and larry page

VCR - jerome lemelson

fax machine - jerome lemelson

telegraph - samuel finley breese morse

morse code - samuel finley breese morse

bulletproof glass - edouard benedictus

electric motor and electroplating - boris semyonovich jacobi

nuclear powered submarine - hyman george rickover

the internet - paul baran

icq instant messenger - arik vardi, yair goldfinger,, sefi vigiser, amnon amir

color photography - leopold godowsky and leopold mannes

world's first computer - herman goldstine

modern computer architecture - john von neumann

bittorrent - bram cohen

voip internet telephony - alon cohen

data archiving - phil katz, eugene roshal, abraham lempel, jacob ziv

nemeth code - abraham nemeth

holography - dennis gabor

laser - theodor maiman

instant photo sharing online - philippe kahn

first automobile - siegfried samuel marcus

electrical maglev road - boris petrovich weinberg

drip irrigation - simcha blass

ballpoint pen and automatic gearbox - laszlo biro

photo booth - anatol marco josepho

medicine:

pacemakers and defibrillators - louise robinovitch

defibrillators - bernard lown

anti-plague and anti-cholera vaccines - vladimir aronovich khavkin

polio vaccine - jonas salk

test for diagnosis of syphilis - august paul von wasserman

test for typhoid fever - ferdinand widal

penicillin - ernst boris chain

pregnancy test - barnhard zondek

antiretroviral drug to treat aids and fight rejection in organ transplants - gertrude elion

discovery of hepatitis c virus - harvey alter

chemotherapy - paul ehrlich

discovery of prions - stanley prusiner

psychoanalysis - sigmund freud

rubber condoms - julius fromm

birth control pill - gregory goodwin pincus

asorbic acid (vitamin c) - tadeusz reichstein

blood groups and rh blood factor - karl landsteiner

acyclovir (treatment for infections caused by herpes virus) - gertrude elion

vitamins - caismir funk

technique for measuring blood insulin levils - rosalyn sussman yalow

antigen for hepatitus - baruch samuel blumberg

a bone fusion technique - gavriil abramovich ilizarov

homeopathy - christian friedrich samuel hahnemann

aspirin - arthur ernst eichengrun

science:

theory of relativity - albert einstein

theory of the electromagnetic field - james maxwell

quantum mechanics - max born, gustav ludwig hertz

quantum theory of gravity - matvei bronstein

microbiology - ferdinand julius cohn

neuropsychology - alexander romanovich luria

counters for x-rays and gamma rays - robert hofstadter

genetic engineering - paul berg

discovery of the antiproton - emilio gino segre

discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation - arno allan penzias

discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe - adam riess and saul merlmutter

discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity - roger penrose

discovery of a supermassive compact object at the center of the milky way - andrea ghez

modern cosmology and the big bang theory - alexander alexandrovich friedmann

stainless steel - hans goldschmidt

gas powered vehicles

interferometer - albert abraham michelson

discovery of the source of energy production in stars - hans albrecht bethe

proved poincare conjecture - grigori yakovlevich perelman

biochemistry - otto fritz meyerhof

electron-positron collider - bruno touschek

[wilwheaton]

His act is way tired. It’s now nine years of “Fake news” and “You won’t have a country anymore” and all the rest. In 2015, all those Trumpisms were stupid and disgusting; but at least they were new. I actually laughed when he described Jeb Bush as a “low-energy person.” He was! I could imagine then how, for voters who didn’t hate him, he was interesting and possibly amusing as a species that American politics rarely produces: someone who threw the script in the air and said whatever the hell popped into his mind. That was bound to be something people wanted to watch, for a while. And it was just as bound to be something that became less compelling over time. It’s an act. And this is a key difference between politics and show business that Trump can’t see. In showbiz, and on TV, it’s all about whether the production values can sell the act. In politics, it turns out, the act needs more than slick production. It still needs to show some connection to people’s lives and concerns. Harris is better at that than Trump is. And her act is a lot fresher, too. And Walz’s act versus Vance’s? Not remotely close. Yes—Walz is so compelling, and Vance so repelling, that this is one election where the veep choices may actually make two points’ worth of difference. None of this means Trump is finished. Happy Days lasted several seasons after it literally jumped the shark. But the ratings did start to fall soon enough. No one ever hated Fonzie, like many do Trump. But even fans of the show became a lot less invested in it. My old friend reminded me of the quote by Elie Wiesel: “The opposite of love is not hate. It’s indifference.”

Donald Trump Has Totally Jumped the Shark

[batboyblog]

"A quote by the Nobel Prize-winning author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel was briefly removed from the walls of a Philadelphia-area high school, reportedly because it violated the school’s policy on “neutrality.”

On Wednesday a principal of a high school in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, ordered the school librarian to take down four posters with the Wiesel quote. The quote came from Wiesel’s 1986 Nobel acceptance speech and reads: “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

That ran afoul of a controversial new district policy banning teachers from engaging in “advocacy activities” or displaying any signs or symbols of “any partisan, political, or social policy issue.” 

The irony it really really burns

1/27/2023

[girlactionfigure]

🧵Meet 15 Jewish Nobel Prize Winners Who Changed History🧵

The Jewish population constitutes just 0.18% of the world (15.3 million out of 8.2 billion), yet approximately 20-30% of Nobel Prize winners in fields like Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine are Jewish. This incredible fact highlights the Jewish community's historic contributions to humanity.

Let’s meet just 15 of the over 200 Jewish Nobel Prize winners.

1/ Albert Einstein (1921, Physics).

Einstein was born in Germany to a secular Jewish family. His groundbreaking discovery of the photoelectric effect laid the foundation for quantum mechanics, earning him the Nobel Prize.

▪ His theory of relativity (E=mc²) reshaped our understanding of gravity and spacetime.

▪In 1933, Einstein fled Nazi Germany to the U.S., where he became a vocal advocate for civil rights and Zionism. ▪He helped inspire the Manhattan Project but later became an advocate for nuclear disarmament.

2/ Niels Bohr (1922, Physics).

Born in Denmark to a Jewish mother, Bohr revolutionized atomic physics.

▪His Bohr Model showed electrons orbit the nucleus in distinct energy levels. ▪During WWII, Bohr worked on the Manhattan Project after escaping Nazi persecution. ▪Beyond science, Bohr advocated for global cooperation and peaceful nuclear energy use.

3/ Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1966, Literature).

Born in Galicia (modern-day Ukraine), Agnon immigrated to Ottoman Palestine in 1908.

▪His novels and stories delve into Jewish tradition, spirituality, and the tension between modernity and faith. ▪His acclaimed works include A Simple Story and Only Yesterday. ▪Agnon’s Nobel solidified Hebrew literature's global recognition.

4/ Rosalyn Yalow (1977, Medicine).

Yalow, born in New York to a Jewish family, co-developed radioimmunoassay (RIA), a groundbreaking technique to measure hormones in blood.

▪Her work revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of diseases like diabetes. ▪Despite gender biases in science at that time, she became the second woman to win the Medicine Nobel.

5/ Baruch Blumberg (1976, Medicine).

Blumberg, a Jewish-American physician, discovered the Hepatitis B virus and developed its vaccine.

▪His research saved millions from liver disease and cancer.

▪Blumberg also served as the first director of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute, exploring life’s origins in the universe.

6/ Lev Landau (1962, Physics)

Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, to a Jewish family, Landau made ground-breaking contributions to condensed matter physics and quantum mechanics.

▪His groundbreaking work on superfluidity explained the behavior of liquid helium at extremely low temperatures. ▪Landau also developed the "Landau-Lifshitz equations," foundational in describing ferromagnetism. ▪Known as a genius in theoretical physics, his "Landau Levels" remain crucial in quantum mechanics.

7/ Richard Feynman (1965, Physics).

Feynman, born to Jewish parents in New York, shared the Nobel for his work in quantum electrodynamics (QED).

▪Known for his brilliance and humor, he revolutionized particle physics with "Feynman diagrams." ▪He contributed to the Manhattan Project and inspired countless scientists through his lectures and books like Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!

8/ Elie Wiesel (1986, Literature).

A Romanian-born Holocaust survivor, Wiesel wrote Night, a searing memoir of his Auschwitz experience.

▪He dedicated his life to Holocaust education and combating hatred. ▪Wiesel’s Nobel recognized his literary contributions, ensuring the horrors of the Holocaust were never forgotten.

9/ Herbert Hauptman (1985, Chemistry).

Hauptman, a Jewish-American mathematician, co-developed direct methods for solving crystal structures, revolutionizing crystallography.

▪His work paved the way for advances in drug design, enabling scientists to develop life-saving medications. ▪Hauptman’s methods remain foundational in understanding molecular structures in biology and medicine.

10/ Robert Aumann - Yisrael Aumann. (2005, Economics).

An Israeli-American mathematician, Aumann revolutionized game theory, analyzing strategic interactions between rational decision-makers.

▪His work, particularly on "repeated games," has applications in economics, military strategy, and even evolutionary biology. ▪Aumann is an observant Orthodox Jew and has been a vocal advocate for Israel's security and has connected his mathematical insights with the Talmudic concept of fairness and justice. He often reflects on his Jewish heritage in his work and public speeches.

11/ Aaron Ciechanover (2004, Chemistry).

Ciechanover, born in Haifa, Israel, discovered the ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation system.

▪This mechanism explains how cells identify and destroy faulty or damaged proteins, which is essential for maintaining health. ▪His findings have significant implications for treating diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's.

12/ Avram Hershko (2004, Chemistry).

Hershko, born in Hungary and a Holocaust survivor, worked alongside Ciechanover on the ubiquitin system.

▪His research showed how proteins are tagged for destruction, which is vital for cellular health. ▪Hershko’s journey from surviving the Holocaust to becoming a Nobel laureate highlights the resilience and brilliance of Jewish scientists.

13/ Daniel Kahneman (2002, Economics).

Kahneman, born in Tel Aviv, is a psychologist whose work transformed economics.

▪He co-authored Thinking, Fast and Slow, exploring how cognitive biases affect decision-making. ▪His prospect theory explained how people assess risk, challenging classical economic theories of rationality.

14/ Ada Yonath (2009, Chemistry).

An Israeli crystallographer, Yonath is celebrated for uncovering the 3D structure of ribosomes, the cell's protein factories.

▪Her work advanced the development of antibiotics targeting bacterial ribosomes, combating antibiotic resistance. ▪Yonath is the first Israeli woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

15/ Saul Perlmutter (2011, Physics).

An astrophysicist from Berkeley, Perlmutter co-discovered that the universe’s expansion is accelerating due to "dark energy."

▪His work confirmed the existence of this mysterious force, which makes up about 68% of the universe. ▪Perlmutter’s groundbreaking discovery led to a wave of new theories and observations in cosmology, changing how we understand the cosmos and our place within it.

Conclusion.

Of the 976 individual winners of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences from 1901 through 2024, at least 217 have been Jews or people with at least one Jewish parent, an astonishing 22% of all recipients. 

This amazing achievement underlines the huge contribution that the Jewish community has made to world progress in a wide range of areas, from science and medicine to literature and economics. 

With only 0.2% of the world's population, Jewish people have continued to shape and inspire the world with intellectual perseverance and innovation, thus leaving a lasting legacy for future generations. 

Correction *Jewish population is at 15.8 million. 

Correction: Wiesel won for peace. 

@AP_from_NY

[matan4il]

Update post:

On Yom Ha'Shoah (Israel's Holocaust Memorial Day), anti-Israel protesters heckled Holocaust survivors during the March of the Living, which is held along the route between two parts of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. Some of the survivors who were at the march had survived Hamas' massacre as well. The protesters wore yellow stars, culturally appropriating the way the Nazis legally marked Jews for extermination. But sure, it's not antisemitism. What can be antisemitic about hijacking the Holocaust and targeting its last survivors? /sarcasm

The other week, a Warsaw synagogue, the only one to have survived the Holocaust, was attacked in the middle of the night with no less than 3 firebombs. I'm sure there is no connection whatsoever between this, and the rise in antisemitism we've seen since Oct 7, which is allowing for the targeting of Holocaust survivors. None.

Hearing the news about the tragic floods in Rio, my heart goes out to innocent Brazilians suffering. But a part of me can't help thinking that if it weren't for Israeli emergency forces being tied up in a war to protect innocent Israeli civilians from murderous, genocidal antisemitic terrorists here, Israel would have likely been among the first to send a rescue delegation to Brazil, to help save as many lives as possible, just like we have done countless times before, for many countries around the globe, including ones we have no official diplomatic relations with. And it just hit me all over again. As one Israeli song states, we are all one living human tissue. We're all connected, sometimes in ways we're completely unaware of. When some of us are intentionally targeted, so many others end up hurt, too. Sometimes we see it, like when we realize there is no way to defeat Hamas without some innocent Gazans and Israelis paying the price, and other times we don't, like with this tragedy in Brazil. But the connection is there.

The following vid was shared by an Israeli Muslim non-Arab Bedouin:

This is 20 years old Evyatar Moshe Chelef.

He was a policeman. On Oct 7, he was at a southern headquarters, and saw and watched all the horror footage and news that was constantly streamed to the control center. On May 6, he reportedly ended his own life, not being able to contain all the atrocities he had witnessed. Primo Levi had survived the Holocaust, but is believed to have eventually taken his own life. His friend Elie Wiesel, a fellow survivor of the same Nazi camp, said about Primo that he was, "...murdered at Auschwitz, 40 years later." I think that fits what Hamas did to Evyatar as well. May his memory be a blessing.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[monikamonik]

•.˚✦𓂃☆.•.・❥・.✭..•.

"Night is purer than day; it is better for thinking, loving, and dreaming. At night, everything is more intense, more true." .•.˚☆࿐

—Elie Wiesel

[shalom-iamcominghome]

(I know this ask game is from a few days ago so. Maybe you're not doing this anymore but in case you are:) 📕 Whats your favorite Jewish book to study?

I'll include all of my favorite authors/books in no particular order!

Rabbi Harold Kushner (z"l) was one of the first jewish authors I intentionally read and I loved the books I read of his. I especially loved how gentle, real, and understanding he was and how real he was.

Elie Wiesel (z"l). Need I say more. I wish I spoke yiddish so I could read his books unadulterated, but regardless, his works were (and are) important to me and helped shape me

Tehillim. Just all of it. I have so much to say about them as a collection, but that would take forever.

Jewish with Feeling (Zalman Schachter-Shalomi). My rabbi had me read this book, and similarly to Kushner, I appreciated how kind and non-judgemental the narrative was.

I mostly read any jewish books with the intention to study (I don't necessarily read for leisure or escape), so I wanted to include as many diverse things as I could. I haven't read enough torah or other overtly-religious text yet to include a specific one, but I have read moments in the torah that I loved (I could rant for hours about when g-d told moses, "I am that I am")

Thanks for letting me rant!!!🩵

[idkimjusthere23]

My dad told me he raised me better than to be a liberal.

You left me for 12-16 hours a day with my grandmother, a die hard liberal catholic who spoke English, Spanish, French, Latin, and Dutch just because she wasn’t going to make anybody learn a new language to accommodate her. The woman who loved and accepted anybody regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, or gender. And you expect me to hate those different from me?

I was raised on a steady stream of Captain Planet and Steve Irwin. I minored in Biology because I cared so much about ecology and zoology. And you expect me to not care about the environment.

Anne Frank was required reading, multiple times. Night, by Elie Wiesel was my required reading with a multi-page report. Those AP history classes you praised me for? We learned about genocide and inequality. And you expect me to stand by while marginalized groups are targeted?

You taught me to be a strong capable woman who can take care of my own household, finances, handiwork, yard work, and car maintenance. Yet you are angry that I am a self sufficient, successful, opinionated woman.

I was raised reading and watching media about young people overthrowing corrupt governments. And you actively vote in a corrupt government and expect me to just sit idly by.

No. I will not.

I will not hate those different than me.

I will not abandon the environment.

I will not allow marginalized groups to suffer.

I will not stay silent.

I will not be idle.

You Raised Me Better Than That

[eretzyisrael]

 Opinion

By MICHAEL KAYE   Published: FEBRUARY 28, 2024 03:04 THE WRITER speaks at a marketing conference in New York City wearing a #EndJewHatred T-shirt.(photo credit: COURTESY MICHAEL KAYE)

It’s been almost five months since October 7, a day that completely changed the lives of more than 15 million Jews around the world. But the aftermath of the attack is still present, months later. In many ways, it feels as though this nightmare just happened, while at other moments, it’s hard to remember what life was like before that day of terror.

I am not fluent in Hebrew. I do not wear a kippah. I have almost 30 tattoos. I am not your stereotypical Jew, but I have become a proud Jewish activist. But October 7 changed me, as it did many others. Who I was before is someone I can never be again. I cannot be complicit or silent. I donate to the Anti-Defamation League; I speak at conferences wearing an #EndJewHatred T-shirt; I never leave home without Jewish-themed jewelry; and I use my social media platforms to discuss the rising antisemitism on college campuses across the United States and around the world.

As someone who was educated at a Jewish school and learned about the Holocaust, I am no stranger to antisemitism or the dangerous impact it can have. My earliest memories include being taught by my parents to be proud but quiet about my Judaism, having swastikas carved on my school playground, being immediately evacuated on September 11, and always leaving my Star of David at home when traveling. 

During my childhood and teenage years, I heard from and met many Holocaust survivors, including Elie Wiesel. I listened to their stories about how the world remained silent.

Today, it feels like the beginning of a second Holocaust. That is why I cannot remain silent.

A scary time to be Jewish

For this Jewish New Yorker, it’s a scary time to be Jewish. The American Jewish Committee’s State of Antisemitism in America report found that 93% of American Jews surveyed think antisemitism is a problem in the United States and 86% believe antisemitism in the country has increased over the past five years. 

In November, I attended the March for Israel in Washington. Around me were Jewish people from Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Diego, and Queens. A man from Brooklyn put tefillin (phylacteries) on me; it was the first time I had worn tefillin in almost 20 years. I even got to meet Julia Haart and Miriam Haart from Netflix’s My Unorthodox Life, who grew up in a religious community not too far from me. While there, I realized this gathering had the most Jews I’ve been around since I was in Israel in 2006. It was the safest I had felt in years. But there were also allies, including Congressman Ritchie Torres and CNN contributor Van Jones. That day reminded me of why I am proud to be Jewish and why I cannot be silent about my Judaism any longer.

Since October 7, I have lost hundreds of followers on social media. I have received anti-Israel and anti-Jewish messages, even threats. But I am not alone. The AJC found that six in 10 people have come across antisemitic content online, and 78% of American Jews feel less safe as Jews in the United States since that horrific day.

To many of us, the current climate feels different. We’re feeling angry, confused, and isolated. In my lifetime, I have watched the nation unite after domestic and foreign terrorist attacks, social justice actions, and wars. Rarely, outside of politics, have I seen us this divided: the Jewish community against everyone else. Overnight, people who had never spoken about any Middle Eastern wars became experts on the conflict. Disinformation spread like wildfire across social media, and much of it felt aimed at damaging or discrediting Jews and Zionists. Almost immediately after October 7, it was not only taboo to express sympathy for the Israelis who were captured or murdered; it was discouraged and forbidden, often met with attacks, both physical and verbal.

BUT THROUGH these painful months, there have also been glimmers of light.

During this period of mourning, I have watched people of all backgrounds come together – to educate, to grieve, to hope, and to pray. A Christian connection on social media thanked me for sharing educational resources. Jewish friends from elementary school and high school reached out. A Muslim friend held my hand as I cried, and another has been checking on me periodically for months. These are the moments I have chosen to cling to.

Our future is not where one side loses and another wins. It’s where we all unite.

The writer is an award-winning communications strategist, data storyteller, purpose-driven marketer, and educator based in New York City. He often speaks about antisemitism, LGBTQ+ rights, and social justice issues.

[fdelopera]

today i opened Elie Wiesel's second volume of portraits of 18th and 19th century Hasidic masters. and i came upon this story about Rebbe Pinhas of Koretz.

Wiesel's portraits continue to resonate through the years. and the wisdom they offer is more relevant now than ever.

as Wiesel says, "a good story in Hasidism is not about miracles, but about friendship and hope — the greatest miracles of all".

that's true of the Jewish community too. the Jewish community continues to be a place of friendship and hope in the face of darkness.

here is the full text of Wiesel's anecdote:

.

One day, a young Hasid came to see Rebbe Pinhas of Koretz, known for his wisdom and compassion.

“Help me, Master,” he said. “I need your advice, I need your support. My distress is unbearable; make it disappear. The world around me, the world inside me, are filled with turmoil and sadness. Men are not human, life is not sacred. Words are empty — empty of truth, empty of faith. So strong are my doubts that I no longer know who I am — nor do I care to know. What am I to do, Rebbe? Tell me, what am I to do?”

“Go and study,” said Rebbe Pinhas of Koretz. “It's the only remedy I know. Torah contains all answers. Torah is the answer.”

“Woe unto me,” said the disciple. “I am unable even to study. So shaky are my foundations, so all-pervasive my uncertainties, that my mind finds no anchor, no safety. It wanders and wanders, and leaves me behind. I open the Talmud and contemplate it endlessly, aimlessly. For weeks and weeks I remain riveted to the same page, to the same problem. I cannot go farther, not even by a step, not even by a line. What must I do, Rebbe, what can I do to go on?”

When a Jew can provide no answer, he at least has a tale to tell. And so Rebbe Pinhas of Koretz invited the young man to come closer, and then said with a smile, “You must know, my friend, what is happening to you also happened to me. When I was your age I stumbled over the same obstacles. I, too, was filled with questions and doubts. About man and his fate, creation and its meaning. I was struggling with so many dark forces that I could not advance; I was wallowing in doubt, locked in despair. I tried study, prayer, meditation. In vain. Penitence, silence, solitude. My doubts remained doubts. Worse: they became threats. Impossible to proceed, to project myself into the future. I simply could not go on. Then one day I learned that Rebbe Israel Baal Shem Tov would be coming to our town. Curiosity led me to the shtibl, where he was receiving his followers. I entered just as he was finishing the Amida prayer. He turned around and saw me, and I was convinced that he was seeing me, me and no one else. The intensity of his gaze overwhelmed me, and I felt less alone. And strangely, I was able to go home, open the Talmud, and plunge into my studies once more. You see,” said ready Pinhas of Koretz, “the questions remained questions. But I was able to go on.…”

What did Pinhas of Koretz try to teach his young visitor? One: Not to give up. Even if some questions are without answers, go on asking them. Two: Doubts are not necessarily destructive — provided they bring one to a Rebbe. Three: One must not think that one is alone and that one's tragedy is exclusively one's own; others have gone through the same sorrows and endured the same anguish. Four: One must know where to look, and to whom. Five: God is everywhere, even in pain, even in the search for faith. Six: A good story in Hasidism is not about miracles, but about friendship and hope — the greatest miracles of all.

[ofallingstar]

List of books I read in 2023

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Women Talking by Miriam Toews

L'homme semence by Violette Ailhaud

Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

On Magic & The Occult by W.B. Yeats

Faithful Place by Tana French

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

Opened Ground: Selected Poems 1966-1996 by Seamus Heaney

The Love Object by Edna O'Brien

Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Night by Elie Wiesel

In Between the Sheets by Ian McEwan

The Lost Days by Rob Reger & Jessica Gruner

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Parallax by Sinéad Morrissey

The Woman in the Strongbox by Maureen O'Hagan

Diaries, 1910-1923 by Franz Kafka

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Walking to Martha's Vineyard by Franz Wright

A Tale for the Time Being Ruth Ozeki

Mouthful of Forevers by Clementine von Radics

Wasteland by Francesca Lia Block

The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

Find Me by André Aciman

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

The Grace Year by Kim Ligget

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Psycho by Robert Bloch

Classic Tales Of Vampires And Shapeshifters by Tig Thomas

Love Devours: Tales of Monstrous Adoration by Sarah Diemer

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Putney by Sofka Zinovieff

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

The Maid by Nita Prose

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

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