The Vale of Tears

by Rabbi Pinchas Hirschprung, Vivian Felsen (Translator)

Overview

An epic journey across borders, The Vale of Tears chronicles close to two years in the life of Rabbi Pinchas Hirschprung as he seeks an escape route from Nazi-occupied Europe. In this rare, near day-by-day account, Rabbi Hirschprung illuminates what life was like for an Orthodox rabbi fleeing persecution, finding inspiration and hope in Jewish scripture and psalms as he navigates the darkness of wartime to a safe harbour in Kobe, Japan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781988065212
Publisher:	Azrieli Foundation
Publication date:	11/01/2016
Series:	The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	328
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	14 Years

About the Author

Rabbi Pinchas Hirschprung was born in Dukla, Poland, in 1912. In 1941, he managed to escape Europe for Japan, immigrating to Montreal nine months later. A world-renowned Torah and Talmudic scholar, Rabbi Hirschprung became the chief rabbi of Montreal in 1969 and led its Jewish community until his death in 1998. Rabbi Hirschprung’s Yiddish-language memoir was published in 1944 and translated into Hebrew in 1948; The Vale of Tears is its first English translation.

Table of Contents

Series Preface xi

About the Glossary xiii

Introduction Zale Newman Arielle Berger xv

Translator's Note xvii

Editors' Note xxxi

Maps xxxiii

A Word about This Book xxxv

A Few Words of Justification xxxvii

Acknowledgements xli

My Shtetl Dukla 1

Poland on the Eve of World War II 9

The Fifth Column at Work 17

Confusion 25

Growing Disappointment 35

Awaiting the Enemy 45

My Grandfather 59

In Great Turmoil 67

In One Breath 81

An Extra Measure of Holiness 91

Yom Kippur in the Attic 101

A Town on Edge 107

From Celebration to Expulsion 119

Crossing the Soviet Border 127

Outcasts 143

From Town to Town 155

The Force Forward 171

Aware of the Miracles 185

The Jerusalem of Lithuania 199

The Decree 215

Redeeming Captives 225

Hope and Delusion 231

The Path 243

The Japanese Professor Abram Kotsuji 259

Epilogue 263

Glossary 267

Appendix: Original Table of Contents 271

Photographs 275

Index 289