THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

The Letter Shin

Some authorities say that
the letter "shin" is placed on
the headpiece of the tfilin be-
cause its numerical value is
300. Tefilin are worn 300
days during the year (since
they are not worn on the
Sabbath or on festivals) (Or-
hot Hayim). Others claim
that the letter "shin," by cer-
tain numerical computations,
is equivalent to the numeri-
cal value of the letters which
make up the holy name of
the Almighty. One of the
reasons for wearing tefilin
on the head is for the "Peo-
ple of the earth to see that
-e called by the name
Almighty" (Deut: 28:-
10). There are those who
claim that the letter "shin"
on the head tefilin combine
with the letter "dalet" and

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Friday, Dec. 14, 1973-45

Wiesel's 'The Oath': Mysticism With Realities

RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX

Elie Wiesel is the mystic,
the Hasid, the disciple of the
Rebbes, primarily of the
Bratslaver, utilizes the in-
spiration he had acqu':',ed
from his masters for another.
Having survived Auschwitz
and Buchenwald as a mere
youngster, he primarily wrote
novels dealing with the Holo-
caust. He settled in France
after his liberation and wrote
in French, while also having
mastered English, Yiddish
and Hebrew.
He is primarily a man of
the spirit, upholding the faith
and the inspiration he had
acquired from the Hasidic
Rebbes, the Bratslaver hav-
ing became his chief teacher
of the art of storytelling and
of kindling hope and faith
among his own followers.

(Copyright 1973, JTA, Inc.)

"yud" of the arm tefilin to
form one of the names of the
Almighty (Shadai). This
makes the wearer of the
tefilin either an image or an
extension of the Creator.

The letter "shin" engraved
on the right side of the tefilin
box on the head has three
stems, while the letter "shin"
engraved on the left side of
the tefilin box of the head
has four sides.

Some claim that these two
kinds of engraving are sym-
bolic of two types of letter-
ing in Hebrew Holy Scrip-
tures. The lettering on the
tablets which Moses carried
down from Sinai was en-
graved upon the tablets.
When a letter of three sides
is engraved into a stone, the
result is four sections made
by three cuts. Compared to
this, there is also a type of
lettering which is made by
script on the parchment of
the Sefer Torah. This has
only three sides. Others
claim that the three-headed
letter "shin" represents the
three Patriarchs—Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob—while the
four-sided letter "shin" rep-
resents the four angels who
carried the throne of the Al-
mighty or else the four Matri-
archs—Sarah, Rebecca, Ra-
chel and Leah.

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The
Happy Cooker

The newest Wiesel novel is
not about the Holocaust. It
deals with a ritual murder
charge and a pogrom, in an
imaginary community in
Eastern Europe.

An historic challenge is in-
corporated in the Wiesel
story, "The Oath," (Random
House) and the community
attitude, the resistance, while
portraying an old theme in a
forgotten age, is applicable
to the present.
Kolvillag is the name that
was chosen by Wiesel for the
village where the action took
place. Jews lived there in
security. They would not be-
lieve that an ancient lie
could take root where they
had believed that progress
was predominant. The police
prefect was their friend, the
count was expected to return
kindness for loyalty and the
compassion Jews showed
when his son was on his
deathbed and their prayers
uplifted him.
But bigotry took root and
a pogrom Jews had hoped to
avert took place.
And the emerging danger
brought resistance. Young
Jews took matters in their
own hands. They fought back.
They died in the struggle,
but they had the satisfaction
of dying heroically.
This is a major element in
a story based upon a com-
munity's chronicle, a docu-
ment that was prepared re-
cording the events in the city
in which the most outrageous
of all accusations against
Jews was leveled at the Kol-
villag community when the
mischievous Christian lad
Yancsi vanished. It was after
the pogrom that he suddenly
showed up.

In Jewish tragedy there is
always the survivor. He
could be one, but he is sym-
bolic. That's the case also in
"The Oath." Azriel, son of
the chronicler of the Kol-
villag tragedy, took the docu-
ment with him as he left the
town. In it is recorded the
story of Moshe the town's
madman, the rejected, who
offered to claim guilt for the
imagined death of Yancsi in
order to rescue his towns-

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Alcoholism kills in different
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Gift Ideas for Hanuka!

Wiesel's philosophical
analyses of messianic hopes,
the mystical factors that as-
sume realism, make "The
Oath" stand out as a signifi-
cantly timely commentary on
Jewish experiences. There is
the oath, not to reveal what
was chronicled, yet it is up-
folded — also in the Jewish
spirit because it was neces-
sary to save life, and on
that basis an oath can be
broken.
The form taken by pog-
romists recapitulates the
Jewish sufferings, while the
resistance gives emphasis to
the new Maccabean spirit
that has engulfed world
Jewry.
There is realism in the de-
scription of the pogrom and
in a madman's offer of mar-
tryrdom; and the piety of
one called the madman
sevres a traditional purpose:
not to abandon even the most
lowly who often rise to great
heights.
There are the corrupt and
the prejudiced Christian, but
there is also the saintly one,
the prefect.
All of which lends credence
to the concluding thought of
Azriel, possessor of the
chronicle of his defiled and
destroyed Kolvillag who
thus records the last images
of the tragic city:

from afar, then I saw them
no more. Only the fire still
lived in what was once a
town, mine. Charred dwell-
ings. Charred corpses.
Charred dreams and prayers
and songs. Every story has
an end, just as every end has
a story. And yet, and yet. In
the case of this city reduced
to ashes, the two stories
merge into one and remain
a secret—such has been the
will of my mad friend named
Moshe, last priphet and first
messiah of a mankind that
is no more."

Such is the vision. Yet the
ELIE WIESEL
threads of history are respun
*_* *_* *
as Azriel opens the chronicle IF-W-*1Sr
to relate a tale that is end- INVITATIONS • ENTERTAINMENT
less, Wiesel's vision, his
• CARICATURES
mysticism, are marked by
• ASTROLOGER'
faith. Kolvillag is dead. Life
• CLOWNS
goes on.
BELLY DANCERS

•
•VARIETY SHOWS

Let us have faith that right
BY HATTIE
SEYMOUR
makes might, and in that
SCHWARTZ
SCHWARTZ
faith let us dare to do our
AGENCY
356.8563
duty as we understand it.— PartyFavors
356.8525
Abraham Lincoln.
CANDY CENTERPIECES

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"The Rebbe and his mur•
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desecrators, the beggars and
their stories, I trembled as
I left them — left them,
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men. He, too, survived, but
his proferred martyrdom,
against the community's
wishes, elevates him to a role
of' great dignity in a fascinat-
ing portrayal of sacrifice and
heroism.

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