Nobel Laureate Holocaust Survivor Elie Weisel z”l
Famous survivor who became a writer, professor and political activist dies at 87 – Had Chassidic Ties
- Moshe Weissberg
- כ"ז סיון התשע"ו
An eloquent witness for the six million Jews slaughtered in World War II and who, more than anyone else would not let the world forget about its horrors was born in Sighet, Romania. He father, Shlomo, urged him to appreciate humanistic values, to learn Hebrew and to be widely read, while his mother urged him to study Torah and Chassidus. He became close to the Kreshnif chassidim in his hometown.
He suffered the horrors of Auschwitz and upon his release he lived in a French orphanage. He later studied philosophy and worked as a French journalist. He moved to New York where he worked as a Yiddish journalist and for the Israeli Yediot Acharonot newpaper.
He wrote scores of books during his lifetime, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
A few years ago in the month of Sivan he met with the Admor of Belz in his Jerusalem home. During the visit, he asked the Admor, “What must a Jew like me do in this world for the Jewish people?” He told the Admor about growing up in a chassidic home in Sighet and how he merited seeing the Admor Rabbi Aharon of Belz zy”a in Budapest. He related that his father had originally been a Vizhnitz chassid and sang some of the Vizhnitz melodies that he remembered from home to the Rav.
Speaking about the miracle of his survival, Weisel said, “I am still searching for the mission for which I was spared from the inferno,” and added, “Through Chassidus, the world’s young generation is pulled to Judaism, more than through any other way.”
He suffered the horrors of Auschwitz and upon his release he lived in a French orphanage. He later studied philosophy and worked as a French journalist. He moved to New York where he worked as a Yiddish journalist and for the Israeli Yediot Acharonot newpaper.
He wrote scores of books during his lifetime, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
A few years ago in the month of Sivan he met with the Admor of Belz in his Jerusalem home. During the visit, he asked the Admor, “What must a Jew like me do in this world for the Jewish people?” He told the Admor about growing up in a chassidic home in Sighet and how he merited seeing the Admor Rabbi Aharon of Belz zy”a in Budapest. He related that his father had originally been a Vizhnitz chassid and sang some of the Vizhnitz melodies that he remembered from home to the Rav.
Speaking about the miracle of his survival, Weisel said, “I am still searching for the mission for which I was spared from the inferno,” and added, “Through Chassidus, the world’s young generation is pulled to Judaism, more than through any other way.”
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