Posted on 07/04/16
My open letter in memory of Eli Wiesel:
Eli, I know we have never met before and I am not sure why this is bothering me so much. But for some reason, I feel compelled to share these words about you. You know, it's funny because I never really had a clearly defined role model in my life before. However, looking back at your life, I have a pretty good idea as to who it might be. Your impact on me has been simply transcending to say the least.
The amount of respect I have for you is truly beyond measure. It's not because you won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. Or even the fact that you received the highly coveted Presidential Medal of Freedom. I have deemed you my role model, because the thought of keeping your faith after losing your mother and sister in Auschwitz and hearing your father being beaten and eventually killed in Buchenwald in such a dehumanizing way to me, is inconceivable.
Not too many people know this, but at one point in time, I too was angry at G-d. So much so that I threw the whole entire way of life out the window. I couldn't fathom how he could let so much evil into the lives of so many innocent people. Tragedy after tragedy, my despair got worse and worse. I will never forget the days before Rosh Hoshanah of 2015. I was sitting with my Rebbe in the Bais Medrash as he was trying to instill some type of inspiration for me to change my mindset right before the high holidays. He showed me your New York Times article "A Prayer for the Days of Awe" that was published exactly 17 years ago to the day.
I was instantly riveted after reading your first few sentences - "Master of the Universe, let us make up. It is time. How long can we go on being angry?" After reading the rest of the piece, I was almost brought to tears. Here is a man that after 50 years of having to think about those daunting memories and going through hell and back, still cannot handle the unbearable pain and incompleteness that comes with not having a connection with you.
It was from that moment on that I realized the true meaning of Emunah and the relationship our souls have with our creator. Since then, I have come back stronger than ever. Making sure nothing stops me from ever losing my connection ever again. As I sit here today, mourning this devastating loss, I realized that I owe you a sincere and heartfelt thank you. Not just for saving my life, but for all the generations that would have been lost had you not have done what you did.
As I close this soliloquy, I bid you a final farewell. It comforts me to know that a man whose life was never peaceful, will finally be resting peacefully in the Garden of Eden. May your spirit bask in the everlasting presence of G-d's glory. I thank you for everything you have done for me as well as for this world. You will never be forgotten.
Your biggest fan,
Menachem Mendel Davis