Written in Blood: An Emotional Look at a Project Commemorating Torah Teachings from the Holocaust

Rabbi Tzvi Yechezkel Michelson HY"D, Rabbi Reuven Zeman HY"D, Rabbi Yehuda Haber HY"D, Rabbi Yitzchak Waldstein HY"D, Rabbi Asher Lemel Spitzer HY"D.Rabbi Chaim Aharon David Deutsch HY"D. You likely have not heard these names until now, neither in the study hall nor anywhere else, and for good reason. The horrible Holocaust not only took them from this world but also erased their sacred Torah filled with toil and pure thought. While the teachings of Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman HY"D, the esteemed head of the Baranovich Yeshiva, were preserved for generations, regrettably, the teachings of these rabbis have faded into obscurity, crying out from the earth.

Introducing the special project: 'Your Torah, I Have Not Forgotten' - preserving the hidden and obscure teachings of Holocaust victims, may Hashem avenge their blood, aiming to ignite a true memorial candle for many European righteous and wise men whose names are unknown to the masses. 

Invoking the chilling supplication from the 'Selichot': "Noisem before Him, remind Him, Torah and good deeds of those who lie in the dust... He will remember their love and revive their seed, that the remnant of Yaakov not be lost" and the unwavering candle, one after another, the Torah words of geniuses of the land are presented on topics like 'Bundles of Commandments' or 'Yibbum'.

Jews immersed mind and soul in Torah study // Image courtesy of the Kiddush Hashem Archive

These accounts also testify to the tenacious and relentless adherence of Jewish people to the Torah of Hashem even in those terrifying moments when the earth was filled with blood, fire, and pillars of smoke. Many have indeed spoken about Jewish heroism during the days of wrath. Visit the 'Kiddush Hashem' Museum, and you shall see. Here, more perhaps than at any other exhibit, you can see what Jews preoccupied themselves with during the Holocaust. What profound and heartwarming innovations they discovered in such a gloomy and sorrowful place, beside the barbarous Nazi oppressor. And just before they would, God forbid, disappear from the world, there are those who seek to do everything possible to establish a name and a remnant for them in the world of Torah.

It is also interesting to note that within the project, life histories of these geniuses are provided, so that they too may endure for many days.

A perusal among the writings reveals much texture in the texts, uncovering the bitter exile already peering through, and the skies that are beginning to gather clouds. These words, seemingly, were penned under the shadow of these tumultuous times.

The Great Shabbat Sermon in the Ghetto

Here, for example, are words of much contemporaneous significance from the brilliant Torah of Rabbi Mordechai Dov Edelberg HY"D – the rabbi of the town of Liskova in Lithuania, and author of the books 'Vision for the Appointed Time', which he penned in Likhowitz, where he journeyed when the Germans conquered the neighboring towns and sought after him:    

 "What commentators wrote: that is why the Torah was given with thunder and lightning, to show that Torah requires self-sacrifice, and without self-sacrifice, it is impossible to fully uphold the commandments. Especially in times of decrees and exterminations, may God forbid, and in the trials of poverty and hardship, like in our era, due to our numerous sins, for without self-sacrifice it is impossible to observe the Shabbat due to the heavy taxes and difficulties in setting aside time for Torah study and raising children in Torah study, fulfilling the obligation of charity – and therefore, at the time of receiving the Torah, mountains were uprooted, Mount Moriah, symbolizing the self-sacrifice of the binding of Isaac, and Mount Carmel moved across the sea, symbolizing spirit and heroism and the victory on which Elijah the prophet triumphed over the false prophets with self-sacrifice, and all the people cried after him 'Hashem, He is the God'! And they will awaken and testify to the great necessity for self-sacrifice in maintaining and studying the Torah at all times!". It is important to note that on the 8th of Cheshvan 5702, the rabbi perished along with hundreds of the village's Jews. 

Pages of the Talmud written and studied in camps // Image courtesy of the Kiddush Hashem Archive

And here is the Great Shabbat sermon, also of much contemporaneous significance, delivered by the brilliant Rabbi Aharon Walakin HY"D: "The way of a ship in the heart of the sea. Bitter – where there is bitterness there is the essence of life. This is what Solomon said, the second pathway that is wondrous to him, is 'the way of a serpent on a rock'. The serpent finds its food even on the rock and barren stone. And all this is because dust is its bread. So too is the way of this nation, their sustenance even on barren stone, because they are accustomed to all evil, even living in a ghetto was not hard for them. And as a living example of the Jewish nature, the Midrash cites 'matzah'. A whole nation that acted on its own to go out to the desert with no provisions for the way, but with few unleavened breads still in their clothes. For a nation like this, there is no strategy or scheme to block their avenues of livelihood, and to restrict them to the narrowest realm, for even in such stifling air, they will easily find their livelihood, until they ultimately ascend to greatness".

The Author from Otwock Laments

 In the writings of the Chassidic scribe Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib Blecharovich HY"D from Otwock – author of the book 'The Elders of the Judah Camp', he also mentions the tribulations of the period: "'Why do nations rage... the kings of the earth take their stand... Hashem laughs at them'. Behold there are two types of exile: exile of the body and exile of the soul", the rabbi begins his remarks.

 "Exile of the body is when the enemies of Israel afflict the Jews with physical tortures, physical beatings, and violent outrages against Israel, imposing unbearable taxes and levies, and similar actions.

"And exile of the soul – this is the weapon of the clever enemies of Israel, who know that for the children of Israel, the chosen nation and holy people, no tool formed against it shall prosper, and therefore they wish to divert Israel from serving Hashem entirely, and they do not torture Israel with body tortures, but on the contrary, they associate themselves with Israel like dear friends, and by using underhanded means they intend to entice them and lead them astray, establishing schools for Israel where they are taught their manners and customs, and so by leading them astray they draw after themselves the light-minded among Israel. And later, once they have already led Israel astray in their souls, they begin to afflict them in their bondage and with body tortures.

Jews crowding to study Torah // Image courtesy of the Kiddush Hashem Archive

"And for this, King David, may peace be upon him, cries out: 'Why do nations rage' – why do they rage against the children of Israel to afflict them with body tortures, 'and peoples meditate on a vain thing' – and there are those among the nations who wish to teach and instruct the children of Israel their empty manners, built on Greek wisdom foundations". In the year 5702, Rabbi Aryeh Yehuda Leib HY"D perished in Treblinka. His wife Rachel, his parents, his grandfather, his siblings also perished. From his entire family, only his brother Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua and his sister Gittel, who jumped and escaped from a train deporting the Jews of Otwock to the death camp Treblinka, survived.

The Testament of the Holy Ones

"In the years we have seen misfortune", begins Rabbi Raziel – the initiator of this unique and emotional initiative, "many texts were also destroyed that illuminated the world with the light of Judaism. There are victims who wrote extensively, but only a small portion of their writings were printed. There are others who did not print extensively, but only a small portion of their writings survived. Sometimes, without reference to their writings, the matters will remain obscure and inaccessible".

Sisyphic probing, assisted by siyata dishmaya, revealed to us this treasure of great and rare writings. These materials, most of which have not been seen by contemporary eyes, came to light. "Several years ago," recounts Rabbi Raziel, "following family research and educational activities, I came across a number of rare books containing remnants of Torah writings by prominent rabbis who were martyred for sanctifying Hashem's name during the Holocaust. I began looking for a concentrated source of information on these writings and others like them, and it became apparent that the teachings written before the destruction had not yet been collected. In the absence of anyone else taking initiative, I tried to be the person to gather information on the writings and books of the holy martyrs and information on the writers. This was so that we could connect to their teachings and spiritual world, saving and reviving Torah that is being lost and forgotten, and commemorating the souls of the righteous.

"This project was essentially established as a tool to fulfill the testament of the scholars who perished in the Holocaust to study and teach from their writings and to revive their teachings, to establish a memorial for the victims of the Holocaust and preserve their spiritual heritage. To rescue the plucked branches from the fire of the great treasury of Torah heritage of the Holocaust victims, and restore the valuable writings to the remnant people of the sword, it is necessary to locate the writings, articles and books that survived and make them available to the public. The objective of the materials presented here is to reveal what we know about the writers and their teachings, and to request additional information from the public on unknown writings.

Yeshiva of the survivors from the camps // Image courtesy of the Kiddush Hashem Archive

"There is great importance in assisting and encouraging the study of the Torah of the victims, both as an important factor in their commemoration and as a foundation for passing on their rich spiritual world to future generations," asserts Rabbi Raziel. "There is tremendous significance in studying the teachings those holy ones wrote for us, in revealing the tucked away teachings and reviving the letters that floated into the air – those which the wicked sought to extinguish, to forget and obliterate from the world. By making accessible the Torah teachings of the perished generation and uncovering hidden writings, we can, with Hashem's help, connect to the teachings of the holy ones and their spiritual world, to absorb the floating letters and revitalize among us their Torah".

Writings Crying from the Ground

Rabbi Raziel requests to cite from the poignant remarks of the great Rabbi Ephraim Berman ZT"L – a student of the Slabodka Yeshiva in its heyday, who fondly recalls the days of pre-Holocaust and raises a tormenting cry: "Often, those years of study in the yeshiva, and the great rabbis in the cities and towns in Lithuania, and the greatness of the yeshiva's students come back to my memory. In the yeshiva (Slabodka Yeshiva). There was then a gathering of brilliant students, great Torah scholars, knowledgeable in shas and halachic works, very sharp-minded... within me, respect for those great ones cries out, every innovation of theirs was filled with bright insights, which evoked deeper penetration into the subject we were engaged in then…

"I asked myself the question: where are they, and not only they themselves, but also their Torah innovations? Tragically, many of those who reached positions of leadership, and also sat on the rabbinic chairs in large European communities, and those who became great heads of yeshivas in Europe, were annihilated. And not only their bodies, but also their writings, their life’s achievements, perished with them. As our sages described with Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion: 'He was burnt, and a Torah scroll with him', and as Rabbi Yehuda ben Bava said to his students: 'My children, run, they said to him, Rabbi, and what will become of you? He said to them, behold, I am left lying before them like a stone that has no one to turn it' (Avodah Zarah 8a). He was killed, but his students were saved. This was not the case in the last destruction, where, unfortunately, the rabbis and their students perished along with their innovations.

"The lack is that we forget the fact that we have forgotten, and greater than this is the lack that it does not disturb our peace... In our time, there is no seeker or inquirer, no person complains about the forgetting of the Torah, and thus we fall asleep. 'Be careful... lest you forget... the things... your eyes have seen', we read in the portion of Va'etchanan. And indeed, we have seen many of our great ones who are no longer with us. And how great must the fear be 'lest you forget' - -". (From his work 'Ashes of the Holy Ones', Brooklyn 5731).

Young men engaged in Torah study in camps in hiding // Image courtesy of the Kiddush Hashem Archive

In conclusion, Rabbi Raziel wishes to convey an important message to the broader public: "The entire public is called upon to be a central and active partner in this holy work, to provide information, to study and to teach. It is fitting to gather the collection of the Torah teachings of the perished generation, to make their Torah teachings accessible and to uncover hidden and concealed writings, by collaborating with the broader public and research institutes. Therefore, I request anyone possessing information regarding Torah teachings of Holocaust victims, whether in manuscripts or rare prints, and wishes to bring them to the public's attention, to get in touch and share the information with us. Before more and more sources of information and family traditions are lost, we must heighten awareness of the immense loss of the Torah world in the Holocaust and the need to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust.

"Thus, we can connect to the teachings of the holy ones and their spiritual world, capture the breathing letters and revive among us their teachings, save what can be saved from the treasures of the Torah heritage of the Holocaust victims, assist and encourage the study of the Torah of the victims, honor the souls of the righteous, and let the lips of the sleepers whisper."

Email of Avraham Yisrael Friedman: abyisrael@gmail.com