-
observant
"I was almost thirteen and deeply observant"
page 3 -
devoted
"By day I studied Talmud and by night I would run to the synagogue to weep over the destruction of the Temple"
page 3 -
ambitious
"One day I asked my father to find me a master who could guide me in my studies of Kabbalah"
"I succeeded on my own in finding a master for myself in the person of Moishe the Beadle." page 4 -
deeply religious/uncertain
"Why did I pray?...Why did I live? Why did I breathe?"
page 4 -
disbelief
"Even I did not believe him. I often sat with him after services, and listened to his tales, trying to understand his grief. But all I felt was pity." page 7 -
scared (2)
"Behind me, an old man fell to the ground. Nearby an SS man replaced his revolver in its holster. My hand tightened its grip on my father. All I could think of will not lose to him. Not to remain alone" page 30 -
doubtful
"Yes, we even doubted his resolve to exterminate us" page 8 -
optimistic
"Still, our first impressions of the Germans were rather assuring"
page 9 -
pretentious
"We wished the holiday would end so as not to have to pretend"
page 10 -
scared
"My father was crying. It was the first time I saw him cry. I had never thought it possible." page 19 -
horrified
"'And the flames do you see them? Over there, that's where they will take you. Over there will be your grave.'" "Could this be a nightmare? An unimaginable nightmare?" page 31 -
gullible
"We had believed her(Mrs. Schnachter), if only for an instant"
Page 27 -
comforting
"'Don't cry Yehiel, don't waste your tears'"
Page 36 -
hopeless
"I too had become a different person. The student of Talmud, the child I was, had been consumed by the flames." Page 37 -
losing strength
"My father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked."
Page 39 -
objectified
"...tattooed numbers on our left arms. I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name." page 42 -
tactful
"I knew nothing about them... Since 1940, my mother had not received a single letter from them. But I lied:"
Page 44 -
good listener
"We followed our Kapo, a young man. He made us halt at the door of the first block, near the entrance to the camp." -
dishonest (for self-benefit)
"I thought of pretending to be sick: "Couldn't you wait a few days sir? I don't feel well, I have a fever..."" Page 52 -
questioning his faith
"What are You? my God? I thought angrily."
Page 66 -
loyal
"As for me, I was thinking not about death but about not wanting to be separated from my father. We had already suffered so much, endured so much together." Page 82 -
losing hope
"The idea of dying, of ceasing to be, began to fascinate me. To no longer exist. To no longer feel the excruciating pain of my foot. To no longer feel anything, neither fatigue nor cold, nothing." Page 86 -
desperate for his father to stay with him and not give up
"'Father,' I said, 'you cannot stay here.'
I pointed to the corpses around him; they too had wanted to rest here." Page 105 -
exhausted/tired from torture
"That's all we thought about. No thought of revenge, or of parents. Only of bread." page 115 -
caring
"I anxiously thought of my father, who was at work."
Page 60 -
afraid of being alone
"My inheritance... 'Don't talk like that, Father.' I was on the verge of breaking into sobs." Page 75