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A Chronicle of Courage

(Boston Globe) - Jeff Jacoby In Nazi-occupied Kovno, Lithuania, Rabbi Ephraim Oshry, a young rabbinical scholar recorded the difficult questions that were brought to him for decision, then buried his notes in tin cans. More than 90% of Kovno's 40,000 Jews were killed in the Holocaust, but Rabbi Oshry survived, and after the war he retrieved his notes, which were ultimately published in five Hebrew volumes - Responsa from the Holocaust. In October 1941, "one of the respected members of the community" asked Rabbi Oshry if he could commit suicide. His wife and children had been seized by the Nazis, and he knew that their murder was imminent. He also knew that the Nazis would most likely force him to watch as his family was killed, and the prospect of witnessing their deaths was a horror he couldn't bear to face. The rabbi did not permit the suicide. But what is stunning is that men and women in the throes of such suffering and brutality were still concerned about adhering to Jewish law.
2004-04-23 00:00:00
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