{"id":28770,"date":"2012-08-16T20:54:06","date_gmt":"2012-08-16T20:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=28770"},"modified":"2017-02-08T08:29:40","modified_gmt":"2017-02-08T13:29:40","slug":"its-all-over-not-jewish-phrase-eliyahu-ferrell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/its-all-over-not-jewish-phrase-eliyahu-ferrell\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIt\u2019s All Over\u201d: Not a Jewish Phrase"},"content":{"rendered":"

Av 5772<\/p>\n

August 2012<\/p>\n

Dear Zayde,<\/p>\n

If I had to make an educated guess, I\u2019d say that it\u2019s 1942 for you, and that you are in Belzec with the Bubby Shaindel and the other Jews of Probuzhna.<\/p>\n

I call you \u201cZayde\u201d based on common practice, for in actuality, you are not my grandfather, but rather, my alte<\/em> zayde, my great<\/em>-grandfather. Your son Elyah was my paternal grandfather.<\/p>\n

I write primarily in the hope that I can provide you with some measure of comfort, even in Belzec.<\/p>\n

Undoubtedly, you and the Bubby are aware that you will be martyred. You will die as so many have died before: for the crime of being a Jew. I take for granted that, given the scope of the Nazis\u2019 reach, you fear for the future of the Jewish people in general and, of course, for that of your family.<\/p>\n

Although we have the Divine promise that we are an eternal people, the Nazis will eventually exterminate many, many Jews before the Allies defeat them. The Allies will liberate the Jews who survived the hellish ordeal of existing in the camps. And the Jews who yet live, in Europe and elsewhere, will, with G-d\u2019s help, accomplish wonders.<\/p>\n

By 1949, a Jewish state will be proclaimed in Palestine. G-d will grant us mastery of our fate in our own land for the first time in almost 2000 years. And with His help, we will build a state that survives and thrives like no other in the region.<\/p>\n

By 1968, we will liberate the Old City of Jerusalem and gain access and control over all of the holy sites, including the entirety of the Western Wall. As I write this in 2012, there are approximately 6 million Jews<\/strong> living in what will be called, \u201cthe State of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nazis wanted to eradicate Judaism, no less than they wanted to eradicate Jews. So let me tell you what happened last week.<\/p>\n

You have probably heard of the Daf Yomi<\/em> (\u201cdaily sheet\u201d) program. Every day, participants all study the same sheet of the Babylonian Talmud. Over the course of seven-and-a-half years, the participants complete all 2711 sheets. The Siyum<\/i>\u00a0(\u201ccompletion\u201d) is, of course, a source of unbounded joy. So much Torah learned by so many Jews with unyielding drive and determination!<\/em><\/p>\n

Over the last few days, Jews have been gathering to celebrate the completion of the 12th<\/sup> cycle of the Daf Yomi<\/em>. That means that decades and decades after the defeat of the Nazis, the Talmud continues to be studied with seriousness and dedication. And when I say that \u201cJews have gathered,\u201d I mean thousands of Jews in cities around the world have gathered. Just in New Jersey, where I live, the (American) Daf Yomi committee rented a sports stadium from its non-Jewish owners so that almost 100,000<\/em> Jews could gather. You\u2019ll like this picture of the event:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When my grandmother Pesyl Leah, your daughter-in-law, told her associates in Poland that she was bound for America, someone said to her, \u201cIn America, even the streets are traif<\/em> (non-Kosher).\u201d Times were tough for Jews in America in your time. People were told not to come to work on Monday if they skipped work on Shabbos. Food that was reliably certified as kosher was not in abundance. Basic Jewish texts were scarce.<\/p>\n

These days, a company could be sued in the non-Jewish courts for firing a Jew for his Shabbos observance. In Manhattan alone, there are scores of mincha<\/i>\u00a0minyanim<\/em> (quorums of ten men gathered for the afternoon prayer)\u00a0available during the work-day. In cities big and small across America, innumerable kosher-certified foods are available in non-Jewish markets. A person would face an insurmountable challenge if they tried to avoid<\/em> kosher food when buying a week\u2019s groceries for their family. And new books on all areas of Judaism are being published weekly, in Hebrew and English, in America and Israel. We even have hand-held, wireless electronic devices that allow one to access literally hundreds of thousands of classes on every Jewish topic, and at no cost.<\/p>\n

The amount of people learning Torah, full-time and part-time, all over the world, is staggering and incalculable. There are more people learning in the Land of Israel now than at any time in Jewish history since the destruction of the 2nd<\/sup> Temple, 2000 years ago.<\/p>\n

I know that in Belzec, and perhaps Probuzhna, the non-Jew in a uniform carrying a gun is a terrifying sight. His presence is inimical to feeling safe and secure.<\/p>\n

At the Siyum last night, squadrons of such people were stationed at the stadium to protect Jews and help them mark the Siyum. This picture is only one of dozens that could have been taken at the stadium (and in transit to the stadium):<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo credit: Yeshiva World News<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You should know that the American national Siyum is dedicated to the memory of the European Jews martyred by the Nazis. You are not forgotten<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As for your family\u2026<\/p>\n

I suppose that, even in Probuzhna, you saw a discrepancy between your level of observance and that of my grandfather. The diminution of observance continued in America, although my grandfather\u2019s rabbis were always Orthodox and he only joined Orthodox institutions. (There are many pork-eating Jews who can\u2019t take seriously a synagogue that serves pork and a rabbi who consumes it.) During their married years, my parents had a different approach to Jewish life than that, but Jewish pride and identification was a constant and my brother and I were given the maximum schooling available in our circle.<\/p>\n

I imagine it will be no small comfort to you to find out that, starting in the mid-1980\u2019s, things began to change. I returned to your ways (actually, the ways of all of our ancestors extending back over 30 centuries). I even became a rabbi\u2026but far more importantly, I\u2019m raising a family on the joyous and noble path of the Torah. I have a son, Yosef Dov\u2014and one of the motivations for naming him \u201cYosef Dov\u201d was your name being \u201cYosef.\u201d My third daughter is Shaindel Shoshana: \u201cShaindel\u201d for the Bubby and \u201cShoshana\u201d for my father\u2019s aunt Raizel (Margulies).<\/p>\n

My brother and his wife, and their son, although not fully observant, are proud and conscious Jews who are always growing in their knowledge and practice. (My sister-in-law is the indefatigable engine behind this, as has been the case in Jewish homes since the days of the Patriarchs.)<\/p>\n

And so, even as you smell the smoke of the crematoria, and wonder when you and the Bubby Shaindel will make the ultimate sacrifice, you should know that our nation\u2019s history and your family\u2019s history has never been and, G-d willing, never will be derailed or defined by episodes of catastrophe. I commend to you the lyrics of a song sung by some fellows from the yeshiva\u00a0<\/em>(Talmudic academy) from which I received\u00a0semicha\u00a0<\/em>(rabbinic ordination):<\/p>\n

Sometimes in my tears I drown,<\/em><\/p>\n

but I never let it get me down<\/em><\/p>\n

when negativity surrounds:<\/em><\/p>\n

I know someday it\u2019ll all turn around.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Your great-grandson,<\/p>\n

Eliyahu<\/p>\n

Passaic, NJ, USA<\/p>\n

\n

Hear the most widely listened-to Daf Yomi<\/em> in the world\u00a0at\u00a0oudaf.org<\/a>\u00a0and a behind-the-scenes interview with the maggid shiur<\/em>, Rabbi Moshe Elephant, on Savitsky Talks<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Rabbi Eliyahu W.\u00a0Ferrell<\/strong> is the Rabbinic Coordinator of the OU’s Kashruth Division<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A fellow comes home from the recent Daf Yomi Siyyum<\/em> and tells his Zayde all about it–in Belzec, in 1942.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":821,"featured_media":55417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cIt\u2019s All Over\u201d: Not a Jewish Phrase - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A fellow comes home from the recent Daf Yomi Siyum HaShas and tells his Zayde all about it in Belzec, in 1942. 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