Before he taught others, Rabbi Ariel Burger was the student of Holocaust survivor, Nobel laureate, author and activist Elie Wiesel. One of the lessons Burger cherishes from his mentor and friend deals with moral education. He explains, "people are morally ignited less by the cognitive processing of learning information than by visceral experience... moments of gooseflesh, chills up the spine, the welling up of tears." Burger knows it is through this style of learning that a student becomes what Wiesel called a "witness," no matter how far removed they are from an event or experience. To ensure his readers become witnesses themselves, Burger approaches his memoir, Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel's Classroom, with that education on full display.
Burger's relationship with Wiesel extends beyond a single course at Boston University. Over decades they develop a special bond as Burger transitions from student to teaching assistant, from bachelor to husband and father and, of course, ultimately, to witness. Readers intimately experience Wiesel's classroom, compassion and renowned wisdom through the perspective of a spiritually ambitious young man coming of age under the guidance and watchful eye of this extraordinary adviser.
Wiesel's words and actions are sure to inspire and awe, while Burger's beautifully articulate storytelling skills offer the goosebumps, chills and tears. He narrates the book in present tense, putting the audience in his shoes, looking through his lenses. Thus, given a front row seat to the master's teaching and the pupil's education, readers can feel the warmth and hope that ignites a true witness. --Jen Forbus, freelancer