Page 49 - Witness: Passing the Torch of Holocaust Memory to New Generations

WRITING
HANNAH SENESH (1921–1944)
Blessed is the Heart with the Strength to Stop Beating for Honor’s Sake
The poet Hannah Senesh emigrated from Hungary to Palestine in 1939 after experiencing anti-Semitism as a child in her native country. She lived on a kibbutz on the seashore near Caesarea. When World War II broke out, she and other Jewish residents of Palestine volunteered to fight the Nazis. She was trained by the British as a paratrooper, and was dropped behind Nazi lines in Europe. The Nazis captured, tortured, and executed the 23-year-old on November 7, 1944. She left us a remarkable legacy of poetry.
Stars
There are stars whose radiance is visible on earth though they have long disappeared. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no
longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for humanity.
Blessed is the Match
Blessed is the match consumed in kindling the flame
Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart Blessed is the heart with the strength to stop beating for honor’s sake Blessed is the match consumed in kindling the flame
Oh Lord, My God—
Oh Lord, my God,
I pray that these things never end:
The sand and the sea, The rush of the waters, The crash of the heavens, The prayer of the heart.
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Krystyna Wituska
Anne Frank
Hannah Senesh