“A short nar­ra­tive poem with dev­as­tat­ing impact, beau­ti­ful­ly illus­trat­ed and accom­pa­nied by a help­ful glos­sary con­tex­tu­al­iz­ing ref­er­ences to his­toric rab­bis, cities, and con­cepts, includ­ing that of the nig­gun, a mys­ti­cal song that one rab­bi called ​‘the pen of the soul.’ ”
—Jewish Book Council

This short story written by Elie Wiesel in the 1970s is emotional, heartbreaking and up-lifting. It is also brilliantly written.

I don't read much poetry at all but this was a perfect combination of poetry and illustrations. The book captures the tragedy of the Holocaust while still acknowledging the Jewish people, their faith, and their history.

If you’ve not yet read any of Elie Wiesel’s work, you’re doing yourself a great disservice. The Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate was a self-appointed chronicler of memory who made it his life’s work to never let the world forget the crimes of the Nazi regime and their supporters.

The Tale of a Niggun is based on factual events and tells the story of a rabbi who is given a dire ultimatum: either choose ten Jews from his community to be hanged on Purim to avenge the sons of Haman or else they will all perish. How does one begin to make such a decision? How does one retain their humanity in the face of such unspeakable violence?

The rabbi spends the night searching for guidance, for answers, and for clarity. In the end, he realizes he cannot condemn to death any of his people. Knowing their fate, everyone in the community begins singing a niggun—a song—that remains unbroken, that continues for all eternity, as long as human beings inhabit the earth. What the Nazis (the “enemy” in the book is unnamed but we can surmise that the amorphous “enemy” is meant to represent the Nazis) failed to realize is that you can take people’s lives, but you can’t take their spirit; you can extinguish their breath, but you can’t extinguish their memory.

The Tale of a Niggun is now available to purchase wherever books are sold.

Anything by Elie Wiesel is a treasure, a jewel of a story. Add this niggun, a story, to share with students and families who want to discuss in depth how to survive a difficult time. We all need help to learn how to dialogue with each other. This short story will help.

** I was provided an electronic ARC by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

I will never forget how deeply Night touched me when I read by first Weisel novel; from the rousing feelings of terror and sadness, honoring history, through his story, to the way I wept as a child at the end of the novel and how hard acclimation back into society was even for those who had desperately fought, been tortured, starved and watched so many others die for it. I absolutely could not pass up the chance to request an arc of historical poetry by Elie Wisel, and (as expected) I was not disappointed in anything I found in it.

This read, like his many earlier works, was beautiful and heartbreaking all at once. A reflection of community, faith, morality, integrity, religion, and the horrors of our world as being true things, not simply invented in fiction or myth. I feel like my heart was broken by this read, and yet still shored up by the light that existed within people, community, and faith even in those darkest of voidlike days when it feels all the world has turned against goodness and right.

This is a tough read and yet it is beautiful. Based on a true incident in WWII, a Jewish community is told that several of them will die because of a perceived historical slight and the group is to send out the relevant people. They call on their Rabbi for guidance and he spends the night calling on inspiration and hope from all the Rabbi’s from history that he can call on. One songs a “niggun” a Jewish wordless melody said to beak the chain of evil.

This is not an easy read but it is beautifully told and illustrated and a reminder that atrocities happened and that they involved real people. This is a necessary and perfect addition to the work of Elie Wiesel and the book does him proud.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Elie Wiesel is best known for his Night trilogy, in which he tells of his experience as a Jewish young man in nazi camps during WWII. Night is one of my all time top reads. It is very powerful.

Wiesel's The Tale of a Niggun is a narrative poem about the WWII experience of Jews in the ghettos of Europe. On the eve of the Purim holiday the leaders of a Jewish ghetto are trying to grapple with the demands of the Nazis that 10 Jewish be handed over to by hung in order to avenge the death of the 10 sons of Haman, the villain from the Purim story. The rabbi in this poem calls on spirits of past rabbis to help guide him in this difficult decision. This is a story of morality, faith, religion, loyalty, and preservation. Lovely, emotional, and powerful.

I have long been a fan of Elie Wiesel – pretty much since I read NIGHT when I was a teenager – so I was incredibly honoured to read and review this stunning narrative poem. THE TALE OF A NIGGUN is a beautiful poem about a grumsome night that Wiesel witness while in the Concentration Camps during the Holocaust.

I loved the introduction by Wiesel’s son, Elisha, which offered great context (both personal to Elie Wiesel, and historical), and was written in beautiful prose – very similar to his fathers.

One thing I would suggest to all readers: read this book in hardcopy! I received an eBook version to review and read it on my Kobo eReader; this made seeing the illustrations very difficult. I went back after and re-read on my iPad and found the experience much more stimulating as Mark Podwal did an amazing job on the illustrations.

This is a beautiful and heartbreakingly sad story, told in verse, by the incomparable Elie Wiesel with the beautiful illustrations of Mark Podwal and released by Elie's son after the story was found in a forgotten text. This is a story of war, of sadness, of searching and then of finding joy, even as life is ending. This story will stay with you for forever and even if you are not Jewish, I dare you to not be changed by what you read; we are all just human beings after all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emotional, heartbreaking, brilliantly written, this narrative poem was written by Elie Wiesel in the late 1970s. It was found and brought to Elies sons attention by a Jerusalem-based bookseller. He had been unaware of its existence. It is set during WWII and on the eve on the Purim holiday. The colored illustrations fit this terrible dilemma of a poem, perfectly. No one should have to make the decision this Rabbi had to make.

ARC from Netgalley

The Tale of Niggun is a beautiful and powerful story exquisitely told by Elie Wiesel. Faith and community are central to this stirring tale.

God made man because He loves stories.
-- Elie Wiesel

A niggun is a melody, typically comprised of sounds rather than in verses as one hears in a hymn. The ones I’ve heard have tended to be beautiful, if plaintive, in nature.

Written by Elie Wiesel in the 1970’s, this is a narrative poem brought to his Wiesel’s son Elisha’s attention by Mechael Pomeranz, who found it in an out-of-print collection of essays published in 1978, a collection honoring Rabbi Wolfe Kelman, a friend of Elie Wiesel.

In the introduction to this poem, Elisha Wiesel shares that this poem is based on actual events that took place during WWII. On the evening before Purim, an ultimatum is delivered by the Nazis to the ghetto’s selected leaders: In twenty-four hours they must turn over ten Jews, who are to be hung, in an act of vengeance for the deaths of Haman’s ten sons. Haman the evil of the Book of Esther. The leaders, in turn, seek out the rabbi for advice, but he must have time to think about it, and tells them to return the next day. Through the night the rabbi wrestles with what is to come, tormented by the desire for a solution. And soon he begins to sing a niggun that no one has ever sung before.


Pub Date: 17 Nov 2020

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group / Schocken

#TheTaleofaNiggun #NetGalley

This book is a narrative poem written by Elie Wiesel in the 1970s about a rabbi, who lives in a ghetto and has to make a terrible decision. In order to make his decision, he consults with Jewish spirits and leaders who give him advice.

I thought this poem was terribly sad and quite beautiful. In the face of impossible terror, we are reminded of the importance of faith, community, and song withing our own piece of mind. I am not Jewish, and heavily utilized the glossary of important terms in the back, making this poem also a lesson on Jewish history and culture. Overall, a worthwhile short read.

The Tale of a Niggun by Elie Wiesel is a narrative poem that tells about a Rabbi during WWII that is faced with the toughest decision of his life. When the Nazis arrive in the community they demand that 10 men are killed and it is the rabbis decision who it must be. This story tells us how the Rabbi handles such a situation and his ultimate decision.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

The Tale of a Niggun - by Elie Wiesel
This a beautiful narrative poem based on a heartbreakingly true story from the second world war.
On the eve of the Jewish holiday of Purim, the Nazis demand that the Jews hand over ten Jews to be hung to "avenge" the deaths of the ten sons of Haman, the villain of the Purim story, which celebrates the triumph of the Jews of Persia over potential genocide some 2,400 years ago. If they refuse, everyone in the ghetto will be murdered. The ghetto’s rabbi seeks advice on this awful moral dilemma by consulting the wisdom of rabbis from centuries past, but no one can give him a satisfactory answer.
I don’t think it would help to write any more about the story and the decision the rabbi makes on behalf of the community, but those who go to their deaths do so singing a ‘niggun’ a wordless, joyful and repetitive melody claimed to stir the soul and have the power to break the chains of evil.
The story is beautifully written and its skill is that it makes a huge impact with so few words. It shows how community and singing can give strength against the worst evil and bleakest outcome.
With the current surge in anti-Semitism across the world the poem feels timely, important and urgent.
I have to admit I was not aware of Elie Wiesel until I read this book, but I now plan to read up on some of his other work. I now know that Wiesel was a Holocaust survivor of Hungarian Jewish descent, and the author of over 40 books. One of these, Night, describes his experiences during the Holocaust and his imprisonment in several concentration camps.

Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. The Norwegian Nobel Committee called him a "messenger to mankind," noting that through his struggle to come to terms with "his own personal experience of total humiliation and of the utter contempt for humanity shown in Hitler's death camps," as well as his "practical work in the cause of peace," Wiesel has delivered a powerful message "of peace, atonement and human dignity" to humanity.
This book includes illustrations of full-colour paintings by award-winning artist Mark Podwal. For this reason, I would recommend a print copy of the book as the e-version I read from does not do these justice.
With thanks to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to the publisher for the e-ARC. It is a lengthy read, but an important one. A poem of great importance to teach empathy and respect. It has a great introduction which sets the tone and the illustrations accompany the poem well. This poem would be good for a suggested reading list while reading one of the author's other pieces of literature too. It is important to never forget the struggles that we face as human beings and the historical events that have shaped our world today. We must never forget. Readers will enjoy this book - and I am so glad to have had the opportunity to read it. Thanks, NetGalley!

Transcending time and place Wiesel’s newly discovered narrative poem demonstrates the strength of faith and community against the imminent threat of slavery and annihilation. This powerful short piece, beautifully illustrated, speaks to us today as clearly as does the words of the sages whose works the young rabbi turns to in a desperate search for guidance. Once again Wiesel demonstrates the depth of his talents and leaves us mourning for all who were and all that was and all who will be lost in the cruelties of the past, present, and future.

The beauty of this book can not be overstated at a time when we are facing a crisis of history just as much as those in this poem and those in the past were. It is a haunting reminder of community and faith that gives hope. I don’t even know what else to say to express the feelings I have reading this poem. It is thought-provoking, deeply sad, and profoundly uplifting. The soft pastel illustrations were perfectly balanced with the intensity of the words and emotions. I will be reading this more than once for sure.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the review copy.

This slim book just broke my big old heart. With exquisite illustrations and a message of what it means to belong to a community, to put faith above all else. Based on an actual event, a Nazi officer requests a Rabbi to select 10 men to be murdered in order to save the rest of the village. Instead the entire village comes forward singing this tune (Niggun). https://youtu.be/ZjJyyP8rNMc

At a time when we are watching citizens burning, looting, destroying their towns and communities this book reminds me of what true respect, resilience, responsibility and hope looks like. I am humbled by men like Ellie Wiesel, genuine heroes who did not use violence or weapons, only words.

I will absolutely be buying this book to keep on my bookshelf. Thank you NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing for providing me with this beautiful ARC.

First sentence: A ghetto, somewhere in the East, during the reign of night, under skies of copper and fire. The leaders of the community, good people all, courageous all, fearing God and loving His Law, came to see the rabbi who has cried and cried, and has searched darkness for an answer with such passion that he no longer can see. It’s urgent, they tell him, it’s more than urgent; it’s a matter of life or death for some Jews and perhaps all Jews.

Premise/plot: The Tale of a Niggun is a narrative poem by Elie Wiesel originally published circa 1978 within a larger collection of works honoring Rabbi Wolfe Kelman. It has newly been republished on its own--or soon will be published in November 2020.

The setting is a GHETTO in the midst of the second World War. The leaders are seeking an answer to an impossible question: should they supply the Nazis with a list of TEN names of people to be deported/taken? If they fail to give a list, then ANY could be taken or ALL could be taken. Perhaps every person will die as a result of not cooperating. Yet wouldn't it be murder to cooperate and help choose WHO dies? A rabbi reluctantly wrestles with this question seeking out the wisdom of his ancestors.

My thoughts: It's a quick read but super-super-super intense and masterful. It is written as a narrative poem. It may at first seem intimidating to the non-Jewish reader, BUT, a helpful glossary is provided in the back of the book that will prove super helpful.