Ariel Burger

Life lessons from Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel (1928-2016), as recounted by his longtime student.

Debut writer Burger, an artist and rabbi, was just 15 when he first met Wiesel. He didn’t know then that his college and doctoral work would be organized around Wiesel’s classroom. Here, the author brings readers into the classroom, sharing with us Wiesel’s readings and analyses of Kierkegaard, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, and others. Such a book could seem exploitative, sentimental, or cheesy, but Burger has managed to craft something both inspiring and substantive. He recounts the profound moral insights Wiesel scattered abundantly through his classroom discussions and his one-on-one conversations with students—e.g., “superficiality is the enemy of everything,” or how faith can be an act of protest. Wiesel’s reading of the book of Job illustrates his compassion and profundity: “Job is…included in the canon…to ensure that we do not take the earlier theology of reward and punishment too far, that we do not make it a weapon.” In response to a student’s question about literature that depicts madmen, Wiesel opines that some people are so possessed by the vision of a world without hatred and cruelty that they “raise the alarm” whenever anything threatens peace. The rest of us, comfortably squirreled away writing the occasional letter to our elected officials, label the messianic visionaries “mad”—but it is by paying attention to them that we learn how “to effectively resist evil.” Amid all the Wiesel wisdom, Burger interweaves bits of his own autobiography, including his childhood and an account of the years he spent in Israel before his doctoral studies. Neither irrelevant nor self-indulgent, these strolls into memoir help establish Burger as a trustworthy and likable guide, a fellow learner who has invited us to sit next to him as we absorb hard-won knowledge about the shape of a good life from a sage.

An insightful and winsome love letter—and, for newcomers to Wiesel, a good introduction.

-Kirkus Review… (mere)

This book startles the reader with the proclamation that disputes the myth that education/learning will save humanity from itself. That schooling and intelligence will prevent human atrocity. The author poses this question relating to the holocaust. How could supposedly intelligent Germans allow themselves to participate in the decimation-genocide of Jews. It seems that moral education struggles to find a home in the university—even religious communities. This is the only way a student can become a witness.
The explanation of wounded faith is startling. Weisel tells a story of a father whose younger child has died. He says “God, I know you want to test me. You want to see if I will lose my faith, if I will despair. I will not! In spite of you and for you I will not.” And then the father said kaddish. Faith is a form of protest—thus the term wounded faith.
The book loses some of its uniqueness and power in the last 1/3 but it still is an immensely important work. This should be at the top of must read books.
… (mere)

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 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.… (mere)

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 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. ( )… (mere)