Ani Maamin
PARTICIPANT:
The following text is excerpted from "Ani Maamin," a poem by Nobel Laureate Elie Weisel. At the age of 15, Weisel and his family were sent to Auschwitz, where his Mother and younger sister were among the more than 1 million Jews murdered there. Wessel is pictured above, the second row of bunks, 7th from the left.
Ani Maaim by Elie Weisel
A camp.
An inmate.
A creature without a name.
A man without a destiny.
It is night, the first night of Passover.
The camp is asleep,
He alone is awake.
He talks to himself
Soundlessly.
I hear his words,
I capture his silence.
To himself, to me,
He is saying:
I have not partaken of Matzot,
Nor of maror.
I have not emptied the four cups,
Symbols of the four deliverances.
I did not invite The hungry To share my repast --
Or even my hunger.
No longer have I a son
To ask me
The Four questions --
No longer have I the strength
To answer. . . .
Still, I recite the Haggadah
As though I believe in it.
And I await the prophet Elijah,
As I did long ago.
I open my heart to him
And say. . .
Empty the cup
That bears your name. Â
Come to us,
Come to us on this Passover night: Â
We are in Egypt
And we are the ones To suffer God's plagues. Â
Come, friend of the poor,
Defender of the oppressed,
Come. Â
I shall wait for you. Â
And even if you disappoint me I shall go on waiting,
Ani Maamin. Â
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