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50 years after Prof Chouchani passed away – Hazkara ceremony in Uruguay

Exactly 50 years after prof. Shoshani (Chouchani) passed away. On Sunday the 15th of January 2018, the Jewish community in Uruguay held a ceremony (Hazkara or Yortzeit) at the Jewish cemetery of La Paz (north to Montevideo) where prof Shoshani’s grave stands.

Here is an article about this ceremony that took place in the rain, in the national newspaper of Uruguay El Pais. They also mention the participation of filmmaker Michael Grynszpan who travelled from Israel to Uruguay to attend the event.

“La lluvia no detuvo homenaje de la comunidad israelita
Recuerdan al sabio Shoshani, inspirador de figuras mundiales.”

https://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/lluvia-detuvo-homenaje-comunidad-israelita.html

cimetiere - image El Pais 14 01 2018

(photo: Diego Moraes)

New article on Levinas and his Master Shoshani

Congrats Prof Hanoch Ben-Pazi!
Chanoch Ben Pazi
“A Philosopher in the Eye of the Storm: Monsieur Chouchani and Lévinas’s “Nameless” Essay”
This article considers the role of the individual during crises in humanism and the ethical responsibility with which the individual is charged in such times of moral calamity. In a narrow sense, the article explores Emmanuel Lévinas’s “Nameless” (“Sans nom”), an essay that appears in his book Proper Names, and proposes viewing it as his personal reading in honor of his unique, unaccounted-for teacher Monsieur Chouchani. From a broader philosophical perspective, the article attempts to consider the meaning of ethics and the assumption of responsibility in times when doing so appears to offer no benefit and hold no significance whatsoever. From an educational perspective, it endeavors to better understand the ethical role of the teacher in both tranquil and tempestuous times. And finally, it also offers another profound observation of what Lévinas’s article refers to as the “Jewish condition,” not in a national historical sense but as a model of crisis-oriented ethical challenge.
Read here : https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ajs-review/article/philosopher-in-the-eye-of-the-storm-monsieur-chouchani-and-levinass-nameless-essay/0F760E8D80D55439B7862512ACA486F4

חשיפה בלעדית: השם האמיתי של מר שושני

חשיפה בלעדית: השם האמיתי של מר שושני
הנה סוף סוף התשובה!!!

Lecture about M. Shoshani in Geneva on Sunday, 6th of November 2016 – in French or English

chouchani question mark

For all those in the world who are fascinated by the mysterious M. Shoshani. If you are curious to know more (and if you understand French!), you are invited to a lecture by Michael Grynszpan at the Kesherday in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday 6th of November 2016. The filmmaker will talk about his research and will show exclusive footage of his movie in process.
If you want to organize a similar lecture in English somewhere else, feel free to contact us.
http://kesherday.org/agenda/creativite-et-judaisme/les-combats-des-femmes-juives-pour-leur-statut-au-xxe-et-xxie-siecles-avancees-et-regressions/

Pour tous les passionnés par le mystérieux Monsieur Chouchani dans le monde. Vous voulez en savoir plus ? Rendez-vous en Suisse à Genève ! Michael Grynszpan y donnera une conférence sur Monsieur Chouchani lors du Kesherday le Dimanche 6 Novembre. Avec des extraits exclusifs de son film en cours. http://kesherday.org/agenda/creativite-et-judaisme/les-combats-des-femmes-juives-pour-leur-statut-au-xxe-et-xxie-siecles-avancees-et-regressions/

Le mystérieux Maître d’Elie Wiesel – article sur les rapports Chouchani-Wiesel

http://frblogs.timesofisrael.com/le-mysterieux-maitre-delie-wiesel/
Elie Wiesel and Michael

The last filmed interview of Elie Wiesel was about his Mentor Shoshani – Chouchani

Filmmaker Michael Grynszpan and Elie Wiesel z.l.

Filmmaker Michael Grynszpan and Elie Wiesel z.l.


We’ve just learned the sad news: Elie Wiesel, Auschwitz Survivor and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Dies at 87. Baruch Dayan Emet (Blessed is the True Judge).

We had the privilege to meet him and to interview him last year in New York.
Elie Wiesel was happy to talk about his mentor and master Shoshani (Chouchani).

We believe this was his last filmed interview.

Prof Shalom Rosenberg quotes his Mentor Shoshani in a new article in Hebrew

prof Shalom Rosenberg“שמע ישראל ה’ א-להינו ה’ אחד”. פסוק זה הוא סמלם של אמונת ישראל ושל קידוש השם. לדברי רש”י, הפסוק מלמד אותנו ש”ה’ שהוא אלוהינו עתה אך איננו אלוהי העכו”ם, הוא עתיד להיות ה’ אחד” – בלב כל האנושות. והוא מוסיף “ונאמר: ‘בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה ה’ אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד’”.
מורי ורבי פרופ’ שושני לימדנו שנבואה זו מבטאת את האמונה בניצחון העתידי של המונותיאיזם. האם הנבואה התקיימה? לכאורה לא! כל דת קוראת לא-ל שלה בשם אחר, דבר המהווה עילה מספקת למלחמות דת. רק כשתתגשם גם הנבואה “וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד” תגיע ההכרה שהא-ל האחד הוא גם אותו א-ל של החלוק עליי.
- פרופ’ שלום רוזנברג, תלמידו של מר שושני, במאמרו לעיתון מקור ראשון

https://musaf-shabbat.com/2016/04/03/%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%AA%D7%A7-%D7%A0%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%9F-%D7%9C%D7%9E%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%A8-%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9D-%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%96%D7%A0%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%92/

“Ecoute Israel Hashem notre Dieu est Un”. Ce verset est le symbole de la foi d’Israel et de la sanctification du Nom. Selon Rachi, ce verset nous enseigne qu’ “Hashem est notre Dieu maintenant, mais n’est pas le Dieu des idolâtres, Il deviendra à l’avenir le Dieu UN”, au coeur de l’humanité entière. Et il ajoute “En ce jour-là, l’Eternel sera le seul Eternel, Et son nom sera le seul nom.” (Zacharie 14 9)
Mon Maitre le professeur Chouchani nous enseignait que cette prophétie enseigne la foi en la future victoire du monothéisme. Est-ce que cette prophétie s’est réalisée ? A priori non ! Chaque religion nomme son Dieu par un autre nom, ce qui est parfois une raison suffisante pour une guerre de religion. Uniquement lorsque cette prophétie “son nom sera le seul nom” sera aussi réalisée, alors viendra la conscience que le Dieu Un est aussi le Dieu de ceux qui ne sont pas d’accord avec nous.
- Extrait d’un article du Professeur Shalom Rosenberg, élève de Monsieur Chouchani, dans le journal Makor Rishon du 1/04/2016.

Elie Wiesel holds Shoshani / Chouchani’s letters in his private archives

Another fascinating article written by a talented journalist Ofer Aderet in Haaretz (same journalist who wrote the first article about our movie on Chouchani / Shoshani http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.553215)

Elie Wiesel and Joel Rappel - Picture : Dorit Rappel

Elie Wiesel and Joel Rappel – Picture : Dorit Rappel


This time it’s about the most famous book of Elie Wiesel, “Night”. We learn here that Dr Joel Rapel – who was the director of Elie Wiesel’s archives in Boston for years – found there this manuscript in Hebrew! Nobody knew until now that Wiesel wrote a version of “Night” in Hebrew because it has never been published. The text in Hebrew is different than the one in French.

Another interesting point in the article, though we knew it before from another source: Elie Wiesel holds letters that Chouchanu/Shoshani wrote him! Under what name did Chouchani sign his letters? good question… It’s important to stress the fact that Elie Wiesel has always maintained that Chouchani’s real name was Mordehai Rosenbaum.

Note: this mention of these letters doesn’t appear in the Hebrew translation of the original article of Aderet in Hebrew, one can say that Chouchani was lost in translation :)

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/news/.premium-1.717093?utm_content=%24sections%2F1.717093.1462094157&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_source=SMARTFOCUS&utm_campaign=1390118&utm_term=20160501-03%3A05&ts=_1462146040434