“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” Lewis Carrol

martes, 2 de septiembre de 2008

Study Questions - Section 1 (Pages 3 to 22)

VOCABULARY: Check the meaning of these words

rabbi: in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’, or more literally, ‘my great one’, when addressing any master.

synagogue: house of assembly, house of prayer, Synagogues are not consecrated spaces, nor is a synagogue necessary for collective worship. Jewish worship can be carried out wherever ten Jews (a minyan) assemble. A synagogue is not in the strictest sense a temple; it does not replace the true, long since destroyed, Holy Temple in Jerusalem

Kaddish: refers to an important and central prayer in the Jewish prayer service. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name.

Hasidism: (from the Hebrew:Chassidus, meaning "piety", from the Hebrew root word chesed meaning "loving kindness") is a Harei Jewish religious movement. Some refer to Hasidic Judaism as Hasidism

Talmud: es una obra que recoge las discusiones rabínicas sobre leyes judías, tradiciones, costumbres, leyendas e historias. El Talmud se caracteriza por preservar la multiplicidad de opiniones a través de un estilo de escritura asociativo, mayormente en forma de preguntas, producto de un proceso de escritura grupal a veces contradictorio.

Torah: most commonly refers to the text of the Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch. It may also refer to the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts.

Rosh Hashanah: is a Jewish holiday commonly referred to as the "Jewish New Year"

Zionism: is an international political movement that originally supported the reestablishment of a homeland for the Jewish People in Palestine (Hebrew: Eretz Yisra'el, “the Land of Israel”), and continues primarily as support for the modern state of Israel.

Maimonides: also known as the Rambam, was a rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Andalusia, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. He was the preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher, and his ideas also influenced the non-Jewish world.

phylacteries: Tefillin, also called phylacteries, are a pair of black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with biblical verses. They serve as a "sign" and "remembrance" that God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. According to Jewish Law, they should be worn during weekday morning prayer services.

Kabbalah: is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings meant to define the inner meaning of both the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and traditional Rabbinic literature, as well as to explain the significance of Jewish religious observances.

Passover: is a Jewish and Samaritan holy day and festival commemorating God sparing the Jews when He killed the first born of Egypt. Followed by the seven day Feast of the Unleavened Bread commemorating the Exodus from Egypt and the liberation of the Israelites from slavery.

Pentecost: is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian liturgical year, celebrated the 49th day (7 weeks) after Easter Sunday—or the 50th day, inclusively, whence its name is derived from the Greek. Pentecost falls on the tenth day after Ascension Thursday. Historically and symbolically related to the Jewish harvest festival of Shavuot, it commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus as described in the Book of Acts, Chapter 2.

Now please, answer these questions very briefly.



  1. 1. When and where was the author's early boyhood spent?

  2. 2. What did Elie and Moishe the Beadle talk about?

  3. 3. Why did Moishe disappear for a few months?

  4. 4. How did people respond to Moishe's stories about the Gestapo? Why?

  5. 5. What happened in Sighet on the seventh day of passover?

  6. What did every Jew have to wear? Why?

  7. What was the Ghetto?

  8. List three things the Jews of Sighet lost by decree.

  9. List three ways the deportees were abused.

  10. Where were the deportees told they were going?

9 comentarios:

Celina B dijo...

1- He spendt his childhood during the 2nd World War in Sighet, a border town between Hungary and Romania
2- About the Zohar
3- Becuase he is taken away for being a forgein jew.
4- They didn´t lsiten because they thought that germans where good and honest people.
5- The germans arrested the leaders of the jewish community.
6-They had to wear the yellow star, so they were recognisable.
7- A exclusibly jewish neighbour, closed by walls in certain cities.
8- They were forbidden to own gold, they werent allow to leave their residences for trhee days. They no longer had the right to frequent cafes.
9- They would load coal into military trains.
10- SOmewhere in Hingary to work in the briks factories

martin lujan dijo...

- He spendt his childhood during the 2nd World War in Sighet, a border town between Hungary and Romania
2- About the Zohar
3- Becuase he is taken away for being a forgein jew.
4- They didn´t lsiten because they thought that germans where good and honest people.
5- The germans arrested the leaders of the jewish community.
6-They had to wear the yellow star, so they were recognisable.
7- A exclusibly jewish neighbour, closed by walls in certain cities.
8- They were forbidden to own gold, they werent allow to leave their residences for trhee days. They no longer had the right to frequent cafes.
9- They would load coal into military trains.
10- SOmewhere in Hingary to work in the briks factories

Manuel dijo...

1- He spent his childhood in Sighet -during the 2nd World War- a town between Hungary and Romania
2- About the Zohar
3- Becuase he is taken away for being a forgein jew.
4- They didn´t lsiten because they thought that germans where good.
5- The germans arrested the jewish leaders
6-They had to wear the yellow star in order to be recognisable.
7- An exclusibly jewish neighbour, sorrounded by walls in certain cities.
8- They were forbidden to own gold, they werent allow to leave their residences for trhee days. They no longer had the right to frequent cafes.
9- They would load coal into military trains.
10- Briks factories in Hungry

Valen dijo...

1)He spent his childhood between 1939-1945 in Sighet.
2)They talked about the the most important work of Kabbalah, the Zohar.
3)One day all foreign Jews were expelled from Sighet and Moishe the Beadle was a foreigner.
4)People thought that Germans were good people so they ignored Moishe's words.
5)The German Army captured the rabbis of Sighet.
6)They had to wear the yellow star in order to be recognised.
7)The neighbour inhabited by Jews where they were excluded from the society.
8)They were forbidden to own gold, they werent allow to leave their residences for trhee days. They no longer had the right to frequent cafes.
9)They would load coal into military trains.
They were sent to concemptration camps.
They were tortured.
10)Somewhere in Hingary to work in the briks factories

Tatu dijo...

1 He spent his childhood between 1939-1945(during the 2nd World War) in Sighet, a town between Hungary and Romania
2 About the Zohar, the most important work of Kabbalah.
3 One day all foreign Jews were expelled from Sighet, and so Moishe the Beadle is taken away for being one of them.
4 They didn't listen because people thought that Germans were good.
5 The German Army captured the rabbis of Sighet, who were the jewish leaders
6 In order to be recognised, they had to wear the yellow star.
7 An exclusibly jewish neighbour, sorrounded by walls in certain cities, where they were excluded from the society.
8 They no longer had the right to frequent cafes. They were forbidden to own gold. They weren't allow to leave their residences for three days.
9 They would load coal into military trains (I don't remember more).
10 The deportees were told that they were going to work in the briks factories somewhere in Hungary.

Feli dijo...

1-Sighet, during the 2nd W.W
2-About the zohar
3-Becouse all foreing jews were expelled
4-They didnt listen to him, they thought he was crazy.
5-The Germans captured the leaders of the jewish
6-A yellow star, so they can be recognise
7-A jewish neighbuor, where they lived excluded from the society
8-They were forbidden to own gold, they werent allow to leave their residences for trhee days. They no longer had the right to frequent cafes
9-They would load coal into military trains
10-To work in factories in Hungary.

joaquin gallardo dijo...

1- He spendt his childhood in Sighet, a town between Hungary and Romania
2- They talk about the Zohar
3- Becuase he was rapted because he was a jew.
4- They didn´t believe him because they thought that germans where good and reasonable people
5- The germans arrested the leaders of the jewish community.
6-They had to wear the david star, for been identificable.
7- A NEIGBHOUR FOR JEWISH CLOSE BY WALLS.
8- They were forbidden to own gold, they werent allow to leave their residences for trhee days. They no longer had the right to frequent cafes.
9- They would load coal into military trains.
10- SOmewhere in Hungary to work in factories.

Unknown dijo...

1) in Sighet, during the 2nd world war
2)About the Zohar
3)Becuase he is taken away for being a forgein jew
4)They didn´t listen because they thought that germans where honest people
5)The germans arrested the jewish leaders
6)they had to wear the yellow star, so they were recognisable
7)An exclusibly jewish neighbour, sorrounded by walls in certain cities.
8)They were forbidden to have any gold, they werent allow to leave their residences for a few days. They no longer had the right to frequent cafes
9)They would load coal into military trains
10)Briks factories in Hungry

tito dijo...

1 He spent his childhood between 1939-1945(during the 2nd World War) in Sighet, a town between Hungary and Romania
2 About the Zohar, the most important work of Kabbalah.
3 One day all foreign Jews were expelled from Sighet, and so Moishe the Beadle is taken away for being one of them.
4 They didn't listen because people thought that Germans were good.
5 The German Army captured the rabbis of Sighet, who were the jewish leaders
6 In order to be recognised, they had to wear the yellow star.
7 An exclusibly jewish neighbour, sorrounded by walls in certain cities, where they were excluded from the society.
8-They were forbidden to own gold, they werent allow to leave their residences for trhee days. They no longer had the right to frequent cafes
9-They would load coal into military trains
10-To work in factories in Hungary.