My father, in his three-volume work Studies in the History of Jewish Education, recounts that with such fear and trembling surrounding the community, the leaders of the community nevertheless – with the last of their strength – turned from siege and suffocation to rays of redemption. The past was pain. The future, as difficult as it was to see, held hope.
“There was a need for great focus in the midst of orphaned solitude and overwhelming loneliness to think of revival . There was a need for all in the community to erect a dam in front of the storm that engulfed our very existence. The saga of endless pain and suffering which equally devastated young and old also manifested great spiritual strength and fortitude.
“The inescapable question confronting us was: In these horrific circumstances, how will we maintain our ancient and sacred heritage, our Torah and its practice? And the answer: We will renew the flames of hope in our hearts and rejuvenate our faith, through education, teaching and learning in schools and renewed tefillah.
“And so it came to pass. Jewish schools and synagogues in Iasi were reopened anew. With glances of strength and encouragement teachers and educators turned to their students, attempting to instill consolation within them and to pat them lovingly. An everlasting warm love trembles in my heart remembering those teachers and their students, during those terrible days, trying days for the collective and individual alike.”
The lesson of Iasi? To continue to teach. To teach, to teach, to teach. In Torah, there is rejuvenation and rebirth. In the soul of the Jew is great strength. My father was one of the first scholars to research, study and publish halachic issues and shailos during the Holocaust.
As my father wrote, “We remain faithful to our past and learn from it in order to sanctify the future. There remains an everlasting and immutable bond between past, present and future in understanding our people.”
Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran serves as OU Kosher’s vice president of communications and marketing.
