Sublime

Like Robinson Crusoe, we are finding footprints on the sandy shore of what had sometimes seemed a lonely, desert island; and, like hon, we are increasingly eager to meet our brother. Indeed, our century is a dangerous one to be alive in, but it is an expectant one as well. Shall we "search and destroy," or shall we engage in dialogue?

Mordechai Berkowitz, a blacksmith, established a workshop

My friend Ruth Zylberman sent me these two short letters from an eight-year-old boy to his grandmother during the 1936 purges in the Soviet Union. The first: Dear Babushka, I’m not dead yet. You’re the only one I have in the world and I’m the only one you have. If I don’t die, when I’m grown up and you’re very, very old, I’ll work and take care of

When we read the stories of our people, we need to realize it’s not just a historic retelling—these stories are perpetually played out within ourselves.

The three Russians were glad to meet the five fugitives. They were particularly interested in

Like most charismatic leaders, Tuvia was spontaneous.5 He felt free to pursue an agenda that required him to save as many of the doomed Jews as possible. In addition to using his personal ties and diplomacy, Tuvia tried to counteract the negative

“And Yael?” “She’s fine. She’s in Auschwitz.”

“Tuvia Bielski was filled with the national pain and the national love, the pain and the love for Jews. He devoted his soul, his brains, and everything else to the rescue of Jews. He saw a chance, a great opportunity, in his ability to save. He was grateful that he could save Jews. For him it was a privilege.

ON APRIL 5, the wheel of history turned. It was late afternoon. We were standing inside the block, waiting for an SS to come and count us. He was late. Such lateness was unprecedented in the history of Buchenwald. Something must have happened. Two hours later, the loudspeakers transmitted an order from the camp Kommandant: all Jews were to gather i