The Rabbinical Assembly is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Elie Wiesel. A Holocaust survivor, best-selling author and Nobel laureate, Wiesel was the voice of our collective moral conscience. We join the rest of the world in mourning one of its foremost champions of justice and human rights.
The Auschwitz survivor and prolific writer exemplified what it means to bear witness. Upon accepting his Nobel Prize in 1986 he said, "Whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation, take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."
For so many of us who live our lives by the promise of making a better world -- Wiesel was an indispensable exemplar. At the tender at age of 15, he faced the darkest moment in human history. His mother, father and sister were killed in the Nazis' genocide. Yet Wiesel demonstrated unfathomable resilience and strength -- to not only survive, but to speak out against other atrocities for the rest of his life, including African famine, ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and the persecution of Soviet Jews.
Rabbi Philip Scheim, president of the RA, said: "Those of us at the Rabbinical Assembly grieve for Elie Wiesel, who moved and inspired us by his life story and by the impact he had on our community and the world. He was one of very few non-rabbis to be granted honorary membership in our assembly. He showed us by words and deeds that we all have a stake in the suffering of others. The world will forever be a better place for the imprint he had on furthering our understanding of the human condition."
As someone who taught us all the power of remembrance, Wiesel's death affirms an enduring message from Proverbs: The memory of the righteous is a blessing.