Simon Wiesenthal z”l

Simon Wiesenthal, who in the words of President Bush, “was a tireless and passionate advocate who devoted his life to tracking down Nazi killers and promoting freedom,” died last week. Published accounts of his life painted him as not a man easy to get along with, but his was not an easy life to live. His self selection for the task he chose, pursing the vilest among us for arrest and punishment, on the whole was misunderstood.
A victim of the Holocaust himself, Wiesenthal was a survivor of the Nazi killing machine that took so many of his relatives and loved ones. His encounter with that engine of cruelty and death made him first and foremost a witness, a witness that would not let this monstrous crime go unnoticed and unpunished.
Deuteronomy Chapter 20, Verse 16 describes Wiesenthal and the life he lived: “Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof” (Justice, Justice, shall you pursue).
May his life, example and memory be for a blessing.
–nrg

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