In a sincere speech, Crown Heights author RabbiNissen Mangel recalls an encounter with Auschwitz's notorious "Angel of Death," Dr. Josef Mengele.
By Karen Schwartz, Chabad.org
As it does every year, Chabad-Lubavitch of Port Washington welcomed members of its Long Island community for a service and lecture commemorating the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. But things proceeded a bit differently last month, with the event also remembering the life of Zelik Sander, the local Holocaust survivor who for years was the gathering's featured speaker.
Taking Sander's place was Rabbi Nissen Mangel, a renowned philosopher and author who was sent to Auschwitz as a 10-year-old boy and spent five years in the death camp before his liberation in 1945. Addressing the concept of belief in G-d after the Holocaust, he reviewed the events he endured as a child, including his first encounter with Auschwitz's notorious "Angel of Death," Dr.Josef Mengele.
Community member Dr. Orly Calderon-Sherman described the talk, which is available online from the Chabad.org multimedia portalJewish.TV, as inspiring.
"It was very informal and very powerful, because he was right there, accessible," explained Calderon-Sherman. "You are not only talking with history, but with a real human being who is telling you" about real experiences.
Beginning on a Sunday with 100 Jewish men donning the prayer boxes known as tefillin in memory of the Holocaust's victims, the event included a morning prayer service and buffet-style lunch.
After Mangel spoke, the rabbi called for questions, but at first people couldn't really speak through their tears.
"People were reflecting on what he was saying," recalled Calderon-Sherman. Then the questions started. "People were interested in asking more questions and learning more about his point of view."
Sander, who passed away in September, used to focus on the positives of a life-affirming outlook, and people were pleased by Mangel's similar focus, said Calderon-Sherman. "That's why that particular talk was so meaningful. It was continuing his legacy of surviving, acknowledging G-d and goodness, and building a meaningful life. He was very special."
Chabad of Port Washington co-director Rabbi Shalom Paltiel said the commemoration was an opportunity to strengthen people's faith, as Mangel addressed not only the Holocaust, but also the question of where G-d can be found in the midst of tragedy.
"He basically said, look, if there wasn't a G-d, there was no way I could survive," said Paltiel. "He shows over and over again that G-d was there for him, and that it was a total miracle that he survived."
While survivors often tell of the horrific experiences they endured, Mangel spoke about it from the perspective of faith, continued the rabbi. And the crowd was moved.
"He really took the place by storm," said Paltiel.
From his deathbed in September, Sander asked the rabbi to continue his work, to make sure people remember the Holocaust and young people remain proud of their Jewishness. (In addition to the tefillin wrap, brunch and lecture, his memory will be honored at the organization's annual dinner in June.)
The rabbi recalled how Sander, who died at the age of 97, would be the first one at synagogue, unlocking the front door and leading the service every day for 12 years.
"I would stand next to him and watch him wrap tefillin over his left arm, right over the numbers," he said of the tattoo that bore Sander's serial number. "It was always a very moving thing, every single day, just to watch a fellow who'd seen so much horror to come to synagogue, to open the door, to lead the service. He was a big inspiration not only to me but to my entire community.
"Jews have suffered a lot through our history and often we become disheartened and people question how we could have faith if we suffered so much," continued Paltiel. "So for people to walk away uplifted and inspired to a stronger faith and a stronger connection to their Jewishness after listening to a talk by a survivor is quite unique."
Mangel said he tries to show that G-d didn't abandon the Jews during the Holocaust, but rather, that every Jew who survived did so miraculously, with G-d's help. He added that he wants people who grapple with the age-old question of how G-d could have let such a tragedy take place to understand that it wasn't that G-d doesn't exist or didn't care.
"On the contrary, G-d was very close to us," he said. "If I'm here talking and I can speak, it's only because He helped me."
