My God is Able to Deliver Me, But Even if He Does Not…

#8, Auschwitz Album Revisited

Oil Painting by Dr. Pat Mercer Hutchens

When Lili Jacobs accidentally discovered the Auschwitz Album at the close of WWII, the very first person she saw when she looked inside was Rabbi Naftali Zvi Weiss, the chief rabbi of Bilke, her Rabbi from her home town. He is the man on the left in this painting. The man on the right is not yet identified but obviously is a fellow orthodox Jew. These spiritual leaders of Zion would quickly have their beards and payot chopped off by the Nazis and their hats removed – just for sport – to bring more humiliation and shame a few minutes before they were murdered. I was struck by the Yellow Star on the Rabbi’s jacket; it actually appears to be cringing.