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Keeping the Promise: A Torah's Journey
A small Torah scroll passes from a Dutch rabbi, to a Bar Mitzvah boy during the Holocaust, to the first Israeli astronaut.
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First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 5, 2008
It deeply disturbs me to place this book, a true story, in the "royally-sucked" category and unlike with others that I have placed here, I do hope that a bad review will not send the author hurtling off a cliff or reduce him to a puddle of tears on the floor. Not that my opinion is so very significant, but sometimes I feel very guilty criticizing other peoples' hard work.
The beginning and middle of this book was very touching. A proud, strong rabbi at Bergen-Belsen leads a bar mitzvah ceremony for a teenage boy who didn't get to have his before he was sent to the concentration camp. The rabbi gives him a tiny scroll with the words of the Torah on it that has always meant a lot to him; he has always carried it everywhere he went, including while in the concentration camp.
The rabbi dies and the boy survives. That is where the story took a not-so-beautiful turn for me. I mean, I'm so very thankful this boy survived but the rabbi DIED when he gave up possession of his good luck charm. Is there any symbolism in this? Didn't the rabbi (I keep typing rabbit, heh) give the boy enough of a gift with his coming of age ceremony; did he have to give him his LIFE too? Did the scroll REALLY have powers of good luck? This to me, is the story; the turn it took seemed pointless after that.
The boy is freed and grows up to become a university professor. He always keeps the scroll that meant so much to him. Then one day he meets an astronaut. No, really. And he tells the astronaut the story of his scroll and the astronaut, when he is about to go into space, calls him up and says "Hey, Prof. Mind if I release that Torah that meant so much to you into space?" And Prof says "Sure! It's not like I have any great attachment to it; go ahead and make it space junk!"
And that is what the astronaut did. He cosmicly littered and made SPACE JUNK out of a holy relic that survived the Holocaust and was giving to a young survivor in an act of supreme love and sacrifice from a stranger.
But that's not all. Upon reentry into the earth's atmosphere, the astronaut was INCINERATED just like the last guy that gave up the scroll. That's what God thinks of your intergalactic holy trash dump. I mean, am I the only person who misses the great beauty in this story? This item needed to be in a museum for other people to learn its story; it did not need to float through space where no one would ever see it again. And the guy that did it DIED. Just like the guy that gave up the scroll in the first place.
I learned two lessons from this story:
1. Don't litter.
2. God is vengeful.
Great book, I recommend it to everyone.
The beginning and middle of this book was very touching. A proud, strong rabbi at Bergen-Belsen leads a bar mitzvah ceremony for a teenage boy who didn't get to have his before he was sent to the concentration camp. The rabbi gives him a tiny scroll with the words of the Torah on it that has always meant a lot to him; he has always carried it everywhere he went, including while in the concentration camp.
The rabbi dies and the boy survives. That is where the story took a not-so-beautiful turn for me. I mean, I'm so very thankful this boy survived but the rabbi DIED when he gave up possession of his good luck charm. Is there any symbolism in this? Didn't the rabbi (I keep typing rabbit, heh) give the boy enough of a gift with his coming of age ceremony; did he have to give him his LIFE too? Did the scroll REALLY have powers of good luck? This to me, is the story; the turn it took seemed pointless after that.
The boy is freed and grows up to become a university professor. He always keeps the scroll that meant so much to him. Then one day he meets an astronaut. No, really. And he tells the astronaut the story of his scroll and the astronaut, when he is about to go into space, calls him up and says "Hey, Prof. Mind if I release that Torah that meant so much to you into space?" And Prof says "Sure! It's not like I have any great attachment to it; go ahead and make it space junk!"
And that is what the astronaut did. He cosmicly littered and made SPACE JUNK out of a holy relic that survived the Holocaust and was giving to a young survivor in an act of supreme love and sacrifice from a stranger.
But that's not all. Upon reentry into the earth's atmosphere, the astronaut was INCINERATED just like the last guy that gave up the scroll. That's what God thinks of your intergalactic holy trash dump. I mean, am I the only person who misses the great beauty in this story? This item needed to be in a museum for other people to learn its story; it did not need to float through space where no one would ever see it again. And the guy that did it DIED. Just like the guy that gave up the scroll in the first place.
I learned two lessons from this story:
1. Don't litter.
2. God is vengeful.
Great book, I recommend it to everyone.
April 8, 2018
This children's book is a deeply moving story of hope, survival, and tragedy. It is based on the true story of a miniature Torah scroll and a secret bar mitzvah that took place in 1944 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. This Torah scroll was taken on Space Shuttle Columbia by Ilan Ramon, an Israeli astronaut, and was incinerated with everyone onboard when the space shuttle exploded upon reentry on 1 February 2003. I found the story to be clear, stark, uplifting, also soul-crushing. It is an emotional rollercoaster. It is not easy subject matter for a children's book, but that does not make it any less meaningful or important.
While I found the story to be clear, it seems other readers might have struggled with it. It is important to remember that it is a true story, simplified for the medium of a short illustrated book, but accurate in its details. It is also important to remember that the Torah is not a good luck charm, but a sacred text and a connection with all those who have read it before you. Rabbi Dasberg did not die because he gave the Torah away; he died because he was killed by the Nazis. Ilan Ramon borrowed the Torah scroll from Professor Joachim "Yoya" Joseph, who had been the one to use the miniature Torah scroll at his bar mitzvah at Bergen-Belsen and who thereafter became its custodian. Ramon borrowed the Torah in order to share its story - of tragedy and endurance - with the world, from outer space. The Torah was not meant to stay in outer space. It would have come home with the crew. Ilan Ramon commented on the fragility of the world, when he looked down upon it from outer space. And it is this fragility that haunts the reader at the end of the book.
While I found the story to be clear, it seems other readers might have struggled with it. It is important to remember that it is a true story, simplified for the medium of a short illustrated book, but accurate in its details. It is also important to remember that the Torah is not a good luck charm, but a sacred text and a connection with all those who have read it before you. Rabbi Dasberg did not die because he gave the Torah away; he died because he was killed by the Nazis. Ilan Ramon borrowed the Torah scroll from Professor Joachim "Yoya" Joseph, who had been the one to use the miniature Torah scroll at his bar mitzvah at Bergen-Belsen and who thereafter became its custodian. Ramon borrowed the Torah in order to share its story - of tragedy and endurance - with the world, from outer space. The Torah was not meant to stay in outer space. It would have come home with the crew. Ilan Ramon commented on the fragility of the world, when he looked down upon it from outer space. And it is this fragility that haunts the reader at the end of the book.
January 14, 2019
It was a touching story of a little known artifact. I wish there had been a bit more detail about the Bar Mitzvah. The illustrations were very nice.
June 1, 2022
Thrilling - in the worst possible way. Heartbreaking. Moving. Inspiring.
Companion read: "The Bar Mitzvah Boys" by Myron Uhlberg, Carolyn Arcabascio.
Companion read: "The Bar Mitzvah Boys" by Myron Uhlberg, Carolyn Arcabascio.
August 12, 2011
Rabbi Dasberg is a well respected person in Holland. Yet he is shipped off to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. While in the camp he is able to keep his tiny 4-inch Torah scroll safe. When he meets a young man who is about to turn 13, he offers to teach him from the scroll so that he will be ready to Bar Mitzvah. Everyone in the barracks helps out, reliving their own Bar Mitzvahs. On the night of the secret celebration, Rabbi Dasberg gives the young man the scroll for safe-keeping. He kept it and it's story alive until it was borrowed by Ilan Ramon, the Israeli astronaut who took it on the Space Shuttle Columbia. Sadly, all 7 crew members of the Space Shuttle died on reentry. The Torah scroll was lost as well.
April 4, 2017
This picture book focuses on the story of the Torah that went into space with the Columbia mission. Tells its travels from Bergen-Belsen to Tel Aviv to outer space. Water color illustrations but also includes photos of the owner of the Torah and of the Torah. Written for age 6-10. Columbia disaster told as an afterword.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews