More than 500 people packed into Boston University’s Metcalf Hall last night to hear Elie Wiesel, a Boston University professor and author of more than 40 books, discuss the concept of caring and comment on violence around the world.
Wiesel, seated at a table and accompanied by a lamp, began his lecture by defining the concept of caring.
‘Caring is the willingness to interfere and intervene in someone else’s life,’ Wiesel said. ‘It is the desire and the action of shielding others from mishaps and misfortune.’
Throughout his lecture, Wiesel questioned why students, parents and humans should not choose ignorance and instead show caring to others.
‘In this age of instant communication, ignorance is not an excuse,’ Wiesel said. ‘The Bible says ‘thou shall love your fellow being as you would yourself,’ and in this day and age, the need to intervene is greater than ever. We are all responsible for one another.’
Students, Wiesel explained, often feel the desire to help, but do not feel they have the ability or knowledge of what to do.
‘Students often feel weak and inefficient; they want to help, but they can’t,’ Wiesel said. ‘They did not ask to be born into a world of imperfections and what should drive them not to worry about their own exclusive welfare?’
For Wiesel, the Bible often is the source of guidance which can lead to answers, and he constantly referred to the Bible during his lecture.
‘The Bible says ‘Thou shall not stand idly by’,’ Wiesel said, ‘and as a part of creation we are all worthy in God’s eyes. One should not help solely for the sake of the victim, but one must think that tomorrow, you may too be in need.’
No talk on caring could overlook the current world situation and its often grim and disheartening reality, according to Wiesel.
‘Terrorism is the enemy,’ Wiesel said, ‘but what do we do and where do we start? We live in a world where children are killed for a cause have we not learned anything?
‘Every day we see teenagers who are trained and taught by their parents to hate, they are turned into emissaries of death,’ he continued. ‘But what they don’t realize is that a martyr is someone to die for a cause, not kill for it.’
Wiesel also addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying he found Arafat at fault but not because of his nationality.
‘Yes, I do believe Arafat is to blame, but not because he is Palestinian,’ said Wiesel, ‘but because he passed up the opportunity to become the first president of a Palestinian state.
‘If only these people could put themselves in each others’ shoes and realize that hatred is not the answer, death is never a solution and only through education can change be made.’
At times Wiesel seemed overwhelmed and baffled at the current state of the world to the point of tears.
‘Where did we go wrong?’ Wiesel asked. ‘My generation suffered because the world didn’t care, so what’s in store for this one?’
Wiesel explained that in the current society of great advancement, it seems as if the people of the world have forgotten how to care.
‘We have walked on the moon,’ Wiesel said, ‘but are we closer to our neighbors? In conquering space, we have forgotten about our souls.’
In an introduction, Chancellor John Silber portrayed Wiesel’s cause as ‘one man’s fight against indifference.’
‘For Elie, it is the idea of not remembering that drives him to the table each day. People such as Elie must speak, they must be heard, be recorded and their words forever repeated,’ Silber said. ‘Eventually they will all be gone, but their words will remain in our history.’
Silber further portrayed Wiesel as a man fueled by his students and stuck on tradition.
‘Elie is a man bound by tradition, even when self-created,’ Silber said. ‘When I asked Elie why he wanted to speak even though he was on sabbatical, he replied, ‘I can’t be away from my students for an entire year.”
Addie Zaritt, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, said she came to hear Wiesel speak because of his reputation and his lessons.
‘Elie Wiesel is a renowned individual who has a lot to teach and tell us,’ Zaritt said.
Regarding Wiesel as an important part of history, CAS junior Julia Harvey recommended everyone take the time to listen to his words.
‘I came to here Professor Wiesel speak because I wanted a chance to see and hear a person who has had such an huge impact on the history of the Holocaust and humanity in general,’ Harvey said.
Furthermore, for Nate Stricker, a CAS sophomore, attending these lectures has become a tradition.
‘I came to Professor Wiesel’s lectures last year,’ Stricker said, ‘and I wanted to see what he had to say this year.’
No matter how grim the issue Wiesel speaks about is, he feels there will always be a glimmer of hope in his words and a chance for a solution, Zaritt said.
‘No matter how hopeless we feel, Wiesel shines a beacon of hope into a desperate world and shows the way to care for each other,’ Zaritt said.
Wiesel said he believes change will come when people realize how badly they are going about things and change their ways.
‘Tell the whole world ‘you are mad’ and you must find a way to bring humanity back to it senses and care,’ Wiesel said.