Irving Greenberg

Who was Elie Wiesel? He was a Holocaust survivor, Nobel peace laureate, activist on behalf of the oppressed, a teacher, a writer, and friend of humanity. Born into an observant Jewish family in Sighet, Rumania, he was a God-intoxicated youth who survived the Shoah. As an adult he moved easily among presidents and prime ministers but was equally at home among the poor and disenfranchised. The reflections in this volume come judges in the Elie Wiesel Ethics Essay contest. They share their personal and professional experiences working with and learning from Wiesel and provide a glimpse of the person behind the public figure. At a time when the future looks ominous, these reflections collectively hold out the promise of a more ethical and morally robust future. Their message reflects Wiesel's message about the abiding necessity of friendship; the importance of interrogating without abandoning God; the fact that everyone has a share in remembering--an obligation to remember--the past in order to construct a better future; and the importance of fighting against indifference. If we want to repair the world, we need to repair relations with each other and with ourselves. ""There is some real beauty to be found here in these memories of my father."" --Elisha Wiesel, Elie Wiesel's son ""Elie Wiesel once said he wrote not to be understood, but to understand. The gift of the Prize in Ethics is that Elie inspired the next generation to do the same . . . In this book lies the opportunity to learn from Elie's dear friends and partners in the Prize in Ethics, who have worked with him tirelessly over the years in promoting his urgent call to humanity to 'think higher and feel deeper.'"" --Dov Seidman, partner to the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity ""Through the memories of his colleagues and students, we meet an educator who was able to transform the classroom into a sacred space. It is a privilege for those of us who never knew him to be able to enter that space and to experience for ourselves how profoundly Professor Wiesel touched and transformed the lives around him."" --Theresa Sanders, Georgetown University ""I was moved, and at the same time very happy, to read the contributions to this outstanding volume that keeps alive the memory of one of the finest messengers of humankind, our great teacher Elie Wiesel."" --Reinhold Boschki, Tubingen University ""This compilation seems the most fitting tribute to a consummate educator whose pedagogy was grounded in story-telling itself. I can think of no better way to honor a man who taught through the stories he told and wrote, than to present this collection--stories of the impact of his life, work, and inspired teaching on individuals and institutions."" --Elizabeth Anthony, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum ""This book reminds us that a great teacher can open minds, ennoble spirits, and--most miraculously--break hearts while filling them with joy and hope. In these pages we hear the gracious, kind, caring, wise voice of Elie Wiesel--teaching, mentoring, uplifting . . . Never has a book been so utterly necessary: at a time of shrill crassness and ethical void, we are reminded of the power of grace, of speaking softly and listening to all--especially to one's students. We are deeply grateful to the editor and contributors for this compelling, extraordinary gift."" --Nehemia Polen, Hebrew College, Newton Center, Massachusetts Alan L. Berger occupies the Raddock Family Eminent Scholar Chair for Holocaust Studies and is Professor of Jewish Studies at Florida Atlantic University where he directs the Center for the Study of Values and Violence after Auschwitz. He is the author or editor of nearly twenty books, including Third-Generation Holocaust Representation (coauthored with Victoria Aarons, 2017), Post-Holocaust Jewish-Christian Dialogue (editor, 2015), and Trialogue and Terror (Cascade Books, 2012).

Who was Elie Wiesel? He was a Holocaust survivor, Nobel peace laureate, activist on behalf of the oppressed, a teacher, a writer, and friend of humanity. Born into an observant Jewish family in Sighet, Rumania, he was a God-intoxicated youth who survived the Shoah. As an adult he moved easily among presidents and prime ministers but was equally at home among the poor and disenfranchised. The reflections in this volume come judges in the Elie Wiesel Ethics Essay contest. They share their personal and professional experiences working with and learning from Wiesel and provide a glimpse of the person behind the public figure. At a time when the future looks ominous, these reflections collectively hold out the promise of a more ethical and morally robust future. Their message reflects Wiesel's message about the abiding necessity of friendship; the importance of interrogating without abandoning God; the fact that everyone has a share in remembering--an obligation to remember--the past in order to construct a better future; and the importance of fighting against indifference. If we want to repair the world, we need to repair relations with each other and with ourselves.

What does it mean to re-vision Torah?"I use the title ReVisions for this book because I want readers both to revise--in the classic definition of reexamine and alter--and to see the text anew, to have a new vision, a 'revision, ' of Torah.... It begins with the notion that women see the text differently than men do, ask different questions and bring different answers.... This book is not about rewriting the Torah. It is about rereading it."--from the IntroductionRabbi Elyse Goldstein--woman, rabbi, scholar, and feminist--challenges and defends, rereads and reinterprets the ancient text, revealing to modern readers a way to see Judaism anew, for a new vision--a "revision"--of the Torah. Goldstein boldly brings the Torah into a contemporary context at the same time she honestly reconciles its past.

Consisting of conversations between renowned Jewish thinker and teacher Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg and Shalom Freedman, this book presents the major themes of Rabbi Greenberg's work and thought and addresses the most challenging questions facing Jewish people today.

The author writes: "The focus of this book is on Judaism as it expresses itself in the Jewish holidays. Through these days Judaism is most visible and most easily accessible. But this is meant to be more than a book about the holidays; rather, it is a book about the Jewish way through life and history. To celebrate the holidays is to relive by reliving the Jewish way. Over the centuries Jewish thought and values have been crystallized in religious behavior. Judaism's underlying structures of meaning—the understanding of the world, the direction of history, the values of life—have come to their classic expression in the holidays. This book seeks to uncover those patterns. "All halachic behaviors are dramatic/mimetic gestures articulating a central metaphor of living. Grasping the metaphor adds depth to action and joy to life. Entering into the holidays with this understanding widens the range of emotion and brings a whole new set of roles and personae into even the most conventional life. Living the Jewish way calls for a highly developed capacity for fantasy and playacting. If you will, one must be a bit of a ham to be a kosher Jew. I hope that by pointing out the roles we are summoned to play, this book will help release the creative imagination for religious living present in every person. "This is not to suggest that practice of the Jewish faith is all play, all fun and games. There have been times when this religion has brought painful memories, moral problematic conflicts with others, oppressive minutiae, and obligations so great I felt guilty no matter what I accomplished. Yet on balance the overwhelming effect has been to fill my life with a sense of Divine Presence and human continuity, bondedness, joy, textured living experiences full of love that make everything worthwhile. No wonder that over the course of history millions of Jews were willing to die, if necessary, for this faith. Through this book, I hope to show others why it is worth living for this faith. "This book is written for different types of readers: nonobservant Jews who seek new experiences to deepen their Jewish identity; observant Jews who wish to avoid the pitfall of practicing the details while missing the overarching goal; those lacking Jewish education who search for more information; learned Jews who search for new insights; and non-Jews who wish to understand the underlying visions of Judaism and who may find that it resonates in their own religious living."