Elie Wiesel - Wise Men and Their Tales: Portraits of Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Masters

F OR TRYING to precipitate the redemption, the Baal Shem Tov was punished. Exiled to a faraway land, he was deprived of his powers and his knowledge. He turned to Reb Tzvi-Hersh Soifer, his faithful servant and disciple, who never left him. Help me, said the Baal Shem Tov, do you remember anythinga prayer, even a word, from before? No, Tzvi-Hersh did not. He too had forgotten everything. Everything? Really? No, said Tzvi-Hersh, I still remember the alphabet. Then what are you waiting for, exclaimed the Master of the Good Name, start reciting! Aleph-Bet-Gimmel-Daled, Tzvi-Hersh began. And with great fervor they both recited all twenty-two letters, repeating them again and again until their memory was restored to them.

This tale is among the most beautiful in Hasidic literature, because it emphasizes the virtues of both faith and learning. An obligation as well as a passion, it is study that marks my own endeavors as both teacher and writer. From my teachers I learned to read and reread our sacred texts with constant amazement and eagerness. But read is not really the proper word. Mikra, which is Hebrew for read, can also be translated as appeal. To approach a biblical passage is to respond to its call, its interpretation, while exploring the depths of its multiple meanings, some of which are immediately understandable, and some enveloped in dazzling mysteries.

This applies equally to my love for the Talmud. An eternal source of inspiration and wonder, the Talmud has accompanied the Jewish people for more than two thousand years of exile, almost as if to alleviate their suffering. Just as the Torah has no beginning, the Talmud has no end. Each succeeding generation of scholars contributes to its growth and its power.

Oh yes, the Talmud and the strength of its dialogue. One can say that the Talmud is nothing more than an endless series of debates between masters and their disciples, and among the masters themselves. But the beauty lies in the respect they all show for one another, particularly when two camps disagree on matters of the law and its application. In the world of the Talmud, the majority and the minority have the same right to be heard. And discussed. And admired.

Whether it involves a pilgrimage to biblical sources or simply celebrates the joy of learning, the act of studying always evokes for me the warm ambiance of the yeshiva. Through this new volume of readings and commentaries, collected over the course of many years, I offer the reader an invitation to come and study together with me.

Prophetic warnings, midrashic stories, Rashi's interpretations, and Hasidic taleswithin the context of an uninterrupted present, even those stories that at first glance seem worn by the sands of time continue to guide and enlighten us, and to teach us how to deal with contemporary challenges and eternal dreams. And even when we are not governed by the answers, we remain affected by the questions that are raised, and by the tales which become part of our own.

All thisprovided our passion for learning is not diminished.

Elie Wiesel

April 2003