I recall our first meeting, at the home of French friends. Love at first sight. Perhaps. Surely on my part. I thought her not only beautiful but superbly intelligent… I became convinced that I could listen to her for years and years – all my life – without ever interrupting her.
One day at the beginning of my convalescence, little Elijah, five years old, comes to pay me a visit. I hug him and tell him, “Every time I see you, my life becomes a gift.”
He observes me closely as I speak and then, with a serious mien, responds:
“Grandpa, you know that I love you, and I see you are in pain. Tell me: if I loved you more, would you be in less pain?”
I am convinced God at that moment is smiling as He contemplates His creation.
Both extracts from ‘Open Heart’ by Elie Wiesel, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, survivor of the holocaust.
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