When the Menorah Fades
This book describes the life of the Jewish people in Hadiach, Ukraine, and their suffering under the Nazis, with a Kabbalistic spiritual touch: the Perpetual Flame of the Menorah at the grave of Chabad founder Rabbi Shneur Zalman Schneerson symbolizes the very spirit of Jewish life, which it is said will persist as long as the flame is burning.
When the Menorah Fades is a fictionalized account of the town of Hadiach, Ukraine, a small Jewish community destroyed by Nazi occupation during World War II. Based on interviews with the surviving residents of Hadiach, Zvi Preigerzon imagines the everyday experiences of ordinary Jewish people during the war. Interweaved with Hebrew and Yiddish expressions and songs, biblical metaphors, and Kabbalistic spiritual elements, a story emerges: resistance in the face of unimaginable cruelty.
A former prisoner of Stalin’s Gulag, Preigerzon wrote this book in complete secrecy, even hiding its existence from his own family. It was originally published under a pen name in Hebrew in 1966 and now appears in English with an introduction by the author’s grandson.
About the author