If I had to describe the atmosphere at this dinner in Wiesenthal's honor, I would say it was this overwhelming sense of “we have won”
When the night is blackest, when the future looks darkest, that’s when the crack of dawn appears and hope begins to blossom. We’re a nation that has seen the brink of extinction time after time, a nation that mourns its exile at the height of celebration – and a nation that refuses to let go of hope for redemption, no matter how black our current night.
What does hope look like to you?
Rabbi Marvin Hier
I
first met Simon Wiesenthal when he was already a renowned Nazi hunter and writer, and we discussed creating the center that would bear his name.
He told me a deeply moving story. He was visiting Switzerland when he learned that the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, Rav Chaim Meir Hager — later known as the Imrei Chaim — was there as well. As a descendant of Vizhnitzer chassidim, Mr. Weisenthal decided to greet this scion of Vizhnitz, but he had no yarmulke with him. Out of respect for the Rebbe, he placed a hand over his head as he went to offer shalom.
Reb Chaim Meir looked at this man consumed by determination to bring some measure of healing to survivors of the Holocaust and said, “Shimen, ayere maasim tovim zollen zein far eich a tzu-dek.” (Your good works should serve as a covering for you.)
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