Nobel Peace Prize winner, writer and activist Elie Wiesel stressed the importance of global and religious tolerance in the second installment of his three-part lecture series on “The Fascination of Jewish Tales” to a packed Metcalf Hall at Boston University.
The lecture, titled “‘And thou shall love thy neighbor’: Against Fanaticism in the Talmud,” addressed the lack of religious tolerance and rise of fanaticism in the world.
“Only we, members of the human family, can measure the depth of fanaticism and stop it,” Wiesel, a BU philosophy and religion professor, said.
Through a series of anecdotal stories, a close reading of the statement about loving one’s neighbor and the analysis of the Talmud as a whole, Wiesel maintained there is no fanaticism in the Talmud. He said the study of the Talmud is the study of dialogue and the recognition of other people as “human beings.”
Wiesel opened his lecture with an explanation of the importance of respect among all people before tackling the statement, “And thou shall love thy neighbor” in its original form. After translating the statement from Hebrew, he carefully defined and analyzed each word before concluding the statement is a declaration on the importance of tolerance among people.
“When I was young . . . when we needed others to help us, they weren’t there to help us,” he said.
He said the message from the Talmud is the reason why he is active in promoting human rights. Last month, Wiesel appeared before the United Nations Security Council to push for greater humanitarian aid in the Darfur region of Sudan.
The Holocaust survivor said the Talmud tells people to listen to and accept what another has to say, because that person has the right to his or her beliefs — which he said is the source of fanaticism.
“Today’s topic is really pertinent to what’s happening in the world today,” College of Communication freshman Danielle Stowe said.
Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies Director Steven Katz opened the lecture with a barrage of powerful examples of fanaticism and terrorism, focusing on the Middle East. He then briefly defined tolerance as “the absence of fanaticism” and introduced Wiesel as a man who has “fought against fanaticism and for tolerance.”
“Real tolerance, much talked about and often admired, is all too often ignored,” Katz said.
Since the fall of 1975, Wiesel has held the annual lecture series.
“Not only his personal experience, but his worldly perspective makes him a real asset to the BU community,” COM sophomore Barritt Osborn said.
Wiesel concluded by addressing the issue of anti-Semitism. Although he said both the Talmud and the Bible say it is necessary to be patient in suffering, and tolerance is necessary for the cohesion of people of a religion and the world alike, fanaticism and intolerance still exist in those “stupid” people who are racist.
“If Auschwitz cannot rid the world of anti-Semitism,” he said, “what will and what can?”