Torah
Lives
Description:
The Talmud speaks disparagingly of those who stand in respect
for a Torah Scroll, but do not stand for a Torah sage. A righteous
and learned person is a living Torah Scroll. Indeed, outstanding
people make it their business to observe the everyday behavior
of great men, so that they can learn from every gesture and
nuance what the Torah expects of a Jew.
That
is why this collection of biographical sketches is so important,
and why its predecessors have been so popular. It is a textbook
of inspirational conduct. Not many people can plumb the depths
of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach’s Talmudic and Halachic genius,
but no one can fail to be moved by his kindness and respect
for everyone, from a sanitation man to a small child. How
can one fail to be uplifted by the Klausenberger Rav, who
breathed life into the souls of countless survivors, despite
his own unspeakable suffering in slave labor camps? Who can
fail to gasp in amazement at the creative, imaginative kindnesses
-- in the millions of dollars -- of the elementary school
rebbe who carried the needs of hundreds of families on his
shoulders?
These
are only a few examples from this marvelous anthology. There
are more than a score of biographies, each one a gem. These
stories appeared originally in the Jewish Observer, and it
is the fifth in this series of anthologies. They are all exceptional
reading, filled with fascinating vignettes from the lives
of famous and not so famous people, all of whom are role models
par excellence.
From
the battlefields of the American Civil War to the horrors
of the Warsaw Ghetto to the teeming streets of the Lower East
Side -- and many places in between -- this book will introduce
us to people we wish we had known, and will be proud to emulate. |
