Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Abraham Asner - October 10, 1982

Religious Beliefs

Yet do you find that your attitude towards a lot of things in life has changed because of what you went through?

Uh, explain it to me, in what way?

Oh, are you cynical? Are you a nonbeliever anymore?

No, in a way, I couldn't, I'm not saying, I couldn't say uh, a nonbeliever. Actually I... Y es and no, I don't know. I'm, I'm less believe it what I used to believe uh, when I was a kid because I don't think everything what uh, is written in Jewish history or the, or the Bible, or something like that, I don't think it's true. Maybe it's just some kind of uh, point is true and not, not everything. And I, at one time I find the Tanach in Yiddish. When I was a kid I used to learn the Tanach and I was very impressed about the Tanach. And uh, and I was reading it in Yiddish I feel I hate the Tanach. Because everything God said and this is God said and this is God said and this is God said. And God said to kill all the enemies with the wives and kids and everything. That's God said. That's in my opinion uh, is not right. See, the Tanach said, because when we was going in, like in cheder and, and learned the Tanach, that Tanach is history. And uh, maybe the teacher counsel it a little bit difference, naturally we don't know good Hebrew. And according that Tanach what is translated in Yiddish is a big difference. That's uh, I don't feel uh, any sympathy for that, for that kind of translation or something like that, to kill uh, kids and wives and this and is this. I say, a war is a war, kids is got nothing to do. Kids brought up either way you want it.


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