Elie Wiesel Books

The subject is inspiring and the text is prose at its most elegant.

In this fascinating book, Ellie Weisel gives a personalized history of Hasidism. Using his own memories and insights, plus whatever tales and legends he finds most interesting, he takes us through Hasidism from its beginning through a lot of the Hasidic masters. The subject is interesting by itself, especially since many of the legends are profound or funny, and Mr. Weisel's wonderful writing style is the perfect vehicle for it. Buy and read this book!

Elie Wiesel describes himself as neither philosopher nor historian but "merely" as a "storyteller who transmits what was given to him, as faithfully as possible, yet lending it his own voice and intonation." He does exactly that in SOULS ON FIRE: HASIDIC PORTRAITS AND LEGENDS.

Before reading this book, I only knew what little of Hasidism one can absorb from watching the Habad Lubavitch funding appeals on Public Television and from casual reading of such novels as Potok's THE CHOSEN.I did know that dancing played a part in Hasidic prayer, but hadn't a clue as to why. SOULS ON FIRE didn't make an instant Hasidic expert out of me, but it did give me a feeling for the history and traditions of a movement that, in the years of the holocaust, played a major, if indirect, part in the preservation of Eastern European Jewry and its culture. (It made reference to the dancing, too.)

The modern Hasidic movement seems to have started with the Baal Shem Tov (1700 - 1760). (Baal Shem Tov translates as Master of the Name.) Passed from the Baal Shhem Tov through succeeding generations of disciples, some of whom also became Masters, or Rebbes, in their own generations, the movement survived, and even thrived in a much less than friendly environment. Eventually it had spread to three geographical areas; the Ukraine, White Russia, and Poland. In each area there were individual Rebbes who taught their own brand of Hasidism and who had their own fervent followers.

Since Wiesel's approach to his subject is to let the various tales and parables of the Rebbes speak for themselves, it's my intention, in this review, to do the same but on a very limited scale. A few comments follow:

Baal Shem Tov: "Whoever loves God exclusively . . . . excluding man, reduces his love and his God to an abstraction."

Wiesel's Grandfather, a Hasid, but not a Rebbe: "To induce others to believe is easier than to believe."

Menachim-Mendl of Kotsk: "In Hell one prays better than in Paradise."

Rebbe Bunham of the School of Pshiskhe: "I think that I could reform any sinner - except a liar . . . . and the worst liar is one who lies to himself."

One complete tale which evidently is meant for God's ears and which reflects on man's seemingly futile wait for the Messiah:

This is also from Rebbe Bunham: A king, wanting to punish his son, sends him into exile in a distant land. The prince, suffering from hunger and cold, waits to be recalled. As years go by, he loses the very strength needed to wait for the royal pardon. Finally, many years later, the king sends an emissary with full powers to grant the prince every desire and wish. In response, the prince asks for a piece of bread and a warm coat, nothing else. He has forgotten that he is a prince and that he could return to his father's kingdom.

Some of the more pessimistic Rebbes seemed to feel that God had to be reminded of his responsibilities to man, and so reminded him through their tales and parables.

Wiesel tells us that Hasidism was born in and survived eras of fear, hunger, and persecution. He hints, through references to his own incarceration, along with most Eastern European Jews, in the Nazi Concentration Camps, that Hasidism, bred in times of anguish, had the strength to survive the hardest test of all, the murder of most of its adherents.

Very little in SOULS ON FIRE can be read in a literal sense. To get the full impact of the book it is necessary to suspend reliance on reality in favor of imagination and perhaps a touch of compassion.

This report by Elie Weisel on the Jews of Silence helped increase greatly Western interest in the Russian Jewish community. It helped rally the Jewish world in support of the emigration movement. And eventually it helped in the liberation of the Soviet Jews from their prison. Over one million were to come to Israel in the decades ahead.
It is rare that a book has so much influence. A courageous witness like Elie Weisel deserves great credit for this historical ' miracle'.

This book, is a classic testament to the brutal persecution of Jews in the Soviet Union during the dark days of Communist opression.
With both poetic and potent eloquency Wiesel describes the atmosphere of fear and silence, that reigned among Soviet Jewry during the 1960's when this book was written. The attempts to force Jews to abandon their faith and identity, and to cut ties with their brothers and sisters in Israel, by the malignant and brutal Communist tyrants. then there was the daily disparagement of the State of Israel and the maligning of Zionism by the State Media (something we see in may countries around the world today).
Indeed even though Communist tyranny in Russia has collapsed, the crusade of hate by the Left, formulated by Soviet propagandists has only got more vicious and irascible, in recent years.
In South Africa, for example, a hard-core Stalinist Cabinet Minister, (of Jewish descent) trained and educated in the old Soviet Union, daily comes up with venomous and ruthless attacks on the Jewish State and it's supporters, and is directing a campaign of ethnic hatred against Israel and it's Jews.
But the Jews of the Soviet Union refused to forget who they were, or to give up their faith or their love for the State of Israel.
Reffering to the violent anti-Israel propaganda formulated in the Soviet Union, the author explains : "The purpose of such propaganda is to make Israel seem hateful to the general populace but to the Jews as well, to undermine the esteem in which they hold the Jewish state, and to convince them finally to relinquish an idea which has failed, a vision of redemption which has somehow been made profane..."
But this form of psychological warfare, directed against the Jewish dream, and designed to divide Jews of the diaspora from their own people in Israel, failed in Russia.
Jews all over the world need to reject it, wherever it raises it's ugly head.
As Wiesel describes 'there are Jews who will under no circumstances let themselves be severed from their people'.

This book was very well written but just to top of a great book there were amazing illustrations.

Interesting to read in different chapters, and a good guideline for whats fact and fiction.

The book, the Oath, was an exceptional book. It was filled with creative narrative, and was delivered in a way, that structured the book in a creative manner. If you are interested in a book about humanity at it's worst, Jews in their most volnurable stages, and the life of a poor child who makes an oath never to tell about his past, then this book is for you. It is based on true events which happened throughout history, and will open your eyes to the old world of hasidism, a world that has changed since the holocaust. The Oath is a great book which everyone should read.

"The Oath" sets out to tell the story of the town of Kolvillag, a Jewish community that no longer exists and no one remembers. Exactly what hapened in that town has been repressed and kept a secret by any of those who survived. They will be cursed if they talk about the fateful events that happened in Kolvillag. Yet there is one survivor, Azriel, who finds that he must tell this story, even if it goes against the oath.

Wiesel's story unfolds in the very beginning, as a dialogue of sorts between Azriel and a young man who is ready to take his own life. This "dialogue" is somewhat confusing at first, as the reader is not sure whom is speaking which lines. Azriel is affronted by this man's desire to take his life, an action that goes directly agains the Talmud and the Jewish faith, and he believes the story of Kolvillag may save this young man. He therefore tells the story of his master and mentor, Moshe, the madman of Kolvillag. In the 1920s, a Christian boy is found murdered and the Christians in the community begin to spread rumors, and then to believe these rumors, that the Jews are responsible. (The term Christian could easily fall into quotation marks since it only implies ethnicity, not action; for the actions of these men are hardly Christian.) In order to preserve and protect the Jews, Moshe decides to take the fall and admit to the murder of a young boy he has never met. He hopes that his action will appease those who oppose the Jews. How wrong he turns out to be. The Christians, hungry for blood, might not be satisfied with the blood of one; they might demand the blood of all.

Wiesel is a master storyteller, weaving his faith so artfully with his fiction that "The Oath" reads as a factual event. Perhaps it is because it describes the seemingly endless plight of Jews and the persecution they have endured for generations. The holocaust of Kolvillag is the precursor for the Holocaust of World War II. Wiesel's words are often profound and philosophical and are rooted deeply in faith and tradition. "The Oath" is an incredible story of the ties that bind us to our faith and traditions, and how hard it is to break those ties; it is even more incredible for the very possibility that Kolvillag (or a town just like it) actually existed at one time.

Jack Kolbert brings with him the richness of his relationship with Wiesel as well as the depth of his scholarly wisdom as he profiles his friend in this biography. Having had the privilage of being a student of Kolbert's, I see also in this work the benefit of his life experiences as well as hear the tone of his teaching. This book is comperable to attending on of Kolbert's lectures--warm, funny, anecdotal at times, yet incredibly focused on the man and the factors involved in Wiesel's development as an author and humanitarian. Kolbert's knowledge of French literature, existentialist thought and Franco-Jewish literature is outstanding, and he brings all of this to the table as he writes about one of the strongest voices in the world today, the incomperable Elie Wiesel. For a Wiesel admirer, this is not a work to be missed.

The Worlds Of Elie Wiesel: An Overview Of His Career And His Major Themes is a biography written by Jack Kolbert, a personal friend of world-famous author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. Focusing on Wiesel's personal struggles against human beings both malevolent and indifferent to malevolence, as well as his trials of faith with regard to a God that permitted the Holocaust, The Worlds Of Elie Wiesel is ultimately a testimony to Wiesel's conviction in the solidarity of the Jewish people. A first-rate companion book to Wiesel's work, The Worlds Of Elie Wiesel is very highly recommended to students of Holocaust Studies, as well as the non-specialist general reader of biographies focusing on influential men who have lived through "interesting times".

Elie Wiesel is a brilliant writer. Like all of his books, this one touched my heart and opened my eyes. I would recommend this book to all readers - even to younger readers. My children are 10 and 11 and they have read this book.

This clear and easy to understand biography of Elie Wiesel is aperfect introduction of Holocaust literature for kids. It's especiallyimportant since many of the survivors are passing away and there is always the looming threat of forgetting this crime against humanity. I would recommend this book for kids 10 and over -any discussion of the horrors might be a bit too extreme for any younger children. Elie's courage and joy de vivre are a lesson for everyone, not just the children.

When Elie Wiesel was 15 years old-- a sheltered, studious adolescent, his life changed radically. This was Hungary; its head of state was an Axis partner who had refused to turn over his Jews to Hitler, although Hungary had plenty of its own Nazis. Still, when the family was offered hiding by their faithful housekeeper, they politely refused her help; his father thinking that the trouble would pass and the war would soon be over. Not soon enough, for the Hungarians, although the last to die, were shipped to the slave labor and killing camps as fast as Eichmann could manage it. Several of Wiesel's family members were killed immediately. Wiesel spent 11 months at Auschwitz, where he experienced torture, abuse, violence and where his father died. It took 10 years, however, for Wiesel to write about his experiences in the famous memoir, Night. Since then, Wiesel has found his métier as a spokesperson against injustice, serving as a powerful voice for victims of racism, hatred and repression throughout the world. He has been chairman of the President's Commission on the Holocaust and a winner of the Nobel Prize. What is exceptional about this book is that not only does it cover all of Wiesel's accomplishments but also contains a humanized portrait of the man, with a format that is attractive to young readers. The print is slightly larger; there is ample white space between lines, lots of photographs (both black and white and colored) with highlighted information set off by a different colored paper. There is also a prodigious amount of reference material listed: appendix, chronology, notes, bibliography, further reading and index. For ages 11-15.

As I wrote the index for this book, I'd find that I was wrapped up in the story so much that I was crying; I'd have to go back to re-read sections so I could index it. It's very disturbing, but very well written. I highly recommend it for all people, so we'll learn not to repeat these atrocities.

As always, Elie Wiesel's writing is marked by the questions he asks. While his literature dwells around the Holocaust and the persecution of the Jewish people, this book is different and the same. His portraits of five prophets from the Bible are brief yet fully informative, a mixture of religious sources to create pictures of men who are well known but obscure at the same time.

Wiesel focuses on Saul, Jonah, Jeremiah, Elijah and Joshua - five men chosen by God to be his voice to his chosen people. What these five men have in common is obvious, but Wiesel also examines their backgrounds, or lack of background that is known to us. These men were all obscure, some uncertain about the role they were to play in Israel's past, present and future. He paints a compassionate portrait of Saul, the first Jewish king, who will forever be overshadowed by his son-in-law David. His biographical sketch of Jonah shows us a prophet whose prophecy amounts to five/six words, and a run from God in order not to fulfill his mission that separates him from the other prophets.

Elie Wiesel has a way of bringing life to words. By applying his experiences, and the religious writings of Jewish history to these Biblical characters, he offers readers a fresh look at five men who shaped the history of faith. Wiesel applies his typical questioning to the text, allowing modern day dilemmas to influence these questions, knowing that "most good questions remain questions", but offering the experiences of these prophets as examples.