Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel's Classroom

The world remembers Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) as a Nobel laureate, activist, and author of more than forty books, including Oprah’s Book Club selection Night. Ariel Burger met Wiesel when he was a teenage student, eager to learn Wiesel's life lessons. Witness chronicles the intimate conversations between these two men as Burger sought Wiesel's counsel on matters of intellect, faith, and survival while navigating his own personal journey from boyhood to manhood, from student and assistant to rabbi and teacher. In this thought-provoking account, Burger brings the spirit of Wiesel’s classroom to life, where the art of storytelling and the act of listening conspire to make witnesses of us all—as it does for readers of this inspiring book as well.

This powerful memoir shares Wiesel’s final lessons on:

• A Twenty-Five-Year Mentorship: Join Ariel Burger in the classroom, in the office, and in conversation as he learns from his guide and friend, Elie Wiesel, over the course of decades.
• Timeless Moral Lessons: Explore profound questions of memory, otherness, rebellion, and activism through the eyes of one of the world’s most important moral voices.
• The Power of Jewish Thought: Discover how ancient stories from the Talmud and Hasidic masters can illuminate today’s most urgent challenges.
• A Legacy of Witness: Understand Wiesel’s belief that listening to a witness makes you a witness, and carry forward the lessons of a life dedicated to fighting indifference.