Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom

by Ariel Burger

Hardcover, 2018

Status

Available

Call number

B WIE

Collection

Publication

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2018), 288 pages

Description

"In the vein of Tuesdays with Morrie, a devoted protg and friend of one of the world's great thinkers takes us into the sacred space of the classroom, showing Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel not only as an extraordinary human being, but as a master teacher"-- Ariel Burger first met Elie Wiesel at age fifteen. They studied together and taught together. Witness chronicles the intimate conversations between these two men over decades, as Burger sought counsel on matters of intellect, spirituality, and faith, while navigating his own personal journey from boyhood to manhood, from student and assistant to rabbi and, in time, teacher. In this profoundly hopeful, thought-provoking, and inspiring book, Burger takes us into Elie Wiesel's classroom, where the art of listening and storytelling conspire to keep memory alive. As Wiesel's teaching assistant, Burger gives us a front-row seat witnessing these remarkable exchanges in and out of the classroom.The act of listening, of sharing these stories, makes of us, the readers, witnesses"--… (more)

Barcode

5710

Awards

National Jewish Book Award (Winner — Biography — 2018)

Language

User reviews

LibraryThing member HandelmanLibraryTINR
Written by Wiesel’s student and teaching assistant, Witness explores the beliefs and the questions behind Wiesel’s teaching philosophy. Wiesel developed a concept of moral education, believing that education holds the key to changing the world. This, despite knowing that the Nazis themselves
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were highly educated – he believed that the missing component that transforms education into moral education lay in memory, in bearing witness. Wiesel’s model of teaching was deeply compassionate – to his students, to the characters within his readings (both sacred and secular), and to the world. Both Burger and Wiesel grapple with faith and God when confronted with suffering and hatred. Like the texts and conversations from the classroom, this text asks much more than it answers – in meaningful and moving ways. ( )
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LibraryThing member skstiles612
The conversation started like this, “I was reading the most wonderful book last night and I finished it in class today. I will let you borrow it if you like.” Any time someone starts a conversation like this I know it will be a book I must read. This statement was made by my co-worker. Together
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we teach a holocaust unit on different grade levels. We have both taught “Night”. Had it not been for her I never would have known about this book.
The author, Ariel Burger was a student and friend of Elie Wiesel. The book is written from notes, conversations and lessons he had learned over the years from this man. This book is a look at life, faith, doubt and so much more as seen through Elie’s eyes and through the lens of the lessons learn through the holocaust. In this book we see how the past affects and shapes the future. It makes us question our beliefs no matter what our religious beliefs. It is through questioning that I believe we learn more about ourselves and about our beliefs. This book made me do exactly what I tell my students I want them to do. It made me think about the past and make connections to the present and to the future. It made me question my religious beliefs. So many times I had students tell me they don’t know what they believe. I never understood that until I read this book. I don’t think they were saying they didn’t know, so much as they didn’t really understand their beliefs. One of the questions asked in the book was whether faith and doubt could co-exist. I thought about Thomas in the Bible. He was called doubting Thomas because of his doubt, yet his faith was strong. No matter what your religious beliefs I believe this is an excellent book to read and I definitely recommend it, especially for those who have read Elie Wiesel’s books.
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ISBN

1328802698 / 9781328802699
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