From The Bimah: Jewish Lessons For Life

Once, there lived amongst us a man with the stature of a prophet, a man with the moral vision of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.   His name was Elie Wiesel, and he taught for years just a few miles from here at Boston University. In his book Witness, which is about Elie Wiesel’s teaching at BU, Ariel Burger, his student for 25 years, tells a story that Elie Wiesel shared in class.  The story concerned a man named Isaac Babel, who was both a Jew and a lieutenant in the Russian cavalry.  That cavalry was a fierce fighting force conquering a lot of areas where Jews used to live in the Pale of Settlement.  Isaac Babel himself had a reputation for being a fierce, even bloodthirsty, fighter.  He embodies this enigma.  He is Jewish. And at the same a Russian military man who is about to conquer Jewish towns. Follow this link to view the sermon and watch the live streaming version on our website https://www.templeemanuel.com/rabbi/rabbi-wes-gardenswartz/rebbe-please-give-me-fervor/