“Soul On Fire”: In Memoriam Elie Wiesel

“Like most of his admirers, I knew Elie Wiesel (z”l) through his public persona and his books. We crossed paths briefly at Jewish conferences or events, and I once looked on in awe as he held a campus auditorium spellbound through the power of his person, his witness, and his message: a plea that the students never remain silent in the face of genocide. But it was the dignity and courage of the man that aroused and held my respect over the years—that and the consistent quality of his writings. What Elie Wiesel said was always worth hearing—and what he did not say evinced wisdom and restraint. The man had a voice that was utterly unique, inside and beyond the Jewish world, and he used it to great purpose. The voice was Jewish in a way never heard before. We will likely never hear another quite like it again.”