My father loved to hear and tell stories so I will tell about his life in a series of stories. I will tell you that my father was a deliberate man. He made what he thought was the best decision and then followed through despite daunting risks and obstacles
When my father’s family were facing deportation to a camp my then 18 year old father told his father that he would separate from them. He said that being on the outside would help him get them freed and that it would break both their hearts to see the other suffer in the camp.
My father called his memoirs, The Tail of the Lion. There is a Jewish saying that it is better to be the tail of a lion then to be the head of a fox. The meaning is that it is better to be the lowest member of a respected group then to be the leader of a mediocre group.
The title from the war comes from his experience when he first got off the train at Auschwitz. He was in a selection line. He was selected to a line that had old men, women and children in it. The other line was of healthy men.
He decided that if he was to survive he would need to somehow get to the other line. He was looking at the unselected line when he thought that the Kapo guarding the line winked at him. He snuck back to the unselected line and tried to look as healthy and a strong as possible. He was selected to the other line. He was probably the smallest and skinniest man in the line. He was the tail of the lion.
My father’s faith in god was unshakeable. He said that he was never angry at god that he only asked why. When my dad was at his lowest point in the camps it was drizzling and cold. He was afraid that he would die soon from illness or starvation. heasked god why when he was such an observant and sincere Jew would god put him in these awful circumstance. At that moment he felt two warm drops on his shoulder. He took it to mean that these were God’s tears. God was crying with him.
Late in his life my father decided that he would not take extraordinary steps to extend his life. He refused procedures that would help repair his damaged heart. Three weeks ago my father became unable to eat or drink because the food he ate was trapped in a pouch that had developed in his throat. He refused a simple day surgery that would have corrected the problem because he wanted to leave himself in the hands of god.
He was very brave facing death. He reassured everyone that he was fine and that he was doing better than he had anticipated.
Chaim Teitelbaum
March 3, 2009