Wiesel: Sages and dreamers
Elie Wiesel is mostly known for his novels and stories recalling the Shoah and for his Nobel Peace Prize. In Sages and Dreamers he goes to a different direction and uses his descriptive skills to paint “portraits and legends from the Jewish tradition” (the subtitle of the book.) The 25 essays (divided into three section, following heroes from the Bible, the Talmud and from the Hasidic tradition) collected here are based on the lectures he gave from 1966 in New York at a Jewish cultural center, the 92nd Street Y. As I have not read the book yet, I would like to utilize three external resources to help you to decide why you would want to read this book.
First, let me quote the closing lines of the preface itself, written by Mr. Wiesel:
Each of these figures stands for an epoch and its problems, conflicts, and aspirations which are often surprisingly close to our own, in this distant century. For those who care about exploring the memory of language, an introduction to these sages and dreamers of other days and another universe is a rich and enriching journey into the depths of religious history.
Second, I recommend reading the New York Times’ review of the book. The reviewer, who attended many of the lectures, reminds us how magical a storyteller Wiesel is.
Third, a few names will surely pop out from you from the full table of contents:
- Preface
- PART ONE: The Bible
- Noah
- Jephthah and his daughter
- Ruth
- Solomon
- Ezekiel
- Daniel
- Ezra and Nehemiah
- Esther
- PART TWO: The Talmud
- The House of Shammai and the House of Hillel
- Rabbi Hanina ben Dossa
- Rabbi Eleazar ben Azaryah
- Rabbi Ishmael
- Rabbi Akiba
- Ben Azzai and ben Zoma
- Elisha ben Abouya
- Rabbi Hananiah ben Teradyon
- Rabbi Meir and Brurya
- Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai and his son
- Rabbi Zeira
- Rav and Shmuel
- PART TREE: The Hasidic Tradition
- The Sopher Zeide
- Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel of Apt
- Rabbi Avraham the angel
- Kotzk and Izbitze
- The Ostrowtzer Rabbi
- Glossary
Sylvia Sucher:
About the Elie Wiesel lectures, I attended a series at the “Y” in the late ’70′s. A lthough I have no recollection of the details of that series, I can remember that it dealt with great Jewish philosophers of the Middle Ages. I kept careful notes at the time but they have long since disappeared.
I also recall that those trips to the City with three other women friends on Thursday evenings were the highlight of our week. The auditorium was also packed, every seat occupied and perfect silence while he was lecturing. A memorable experience!
20 June 2008, 2:09 pm