Contribution to Book
Can religion help heal a world broken by trauma?: Etty Hillesum as our ancestor in the qahal goyim
The Lasting Significance of Etty Hillesum's Writings
(2019)
Abstract
Etty Hillesum is a religious model for responding to trauma. Tempted to withdraw by “splitting [herself] up” (4 June 1942), she instead saw herself as “heir to a great spirtual heritage” (18 September 1942), committing to “love everyone … made in God’s image” (18 August 1943). She is our contemproary Jacob, our ancestor in the qahal goyim (Genesis 35.11).
Keywords
- Etty Hillesum,
- trauma,
- ethics
Disciplines
Publication Date
2019
Editor
Klaas Smelik
Publisher
Amsterdam University Press
Publisher Statement
The Lasting Significance of Etty Hillesum’s Writings contains the proceedings of the third international Etty Hillesum Conference, held in Middelburg in September 2018. It brings together the work of 33 experts from all over the world to shed new light on life, works, inspiration and vision of the Dutch Jewish writer Etty Hillesum (1914-1943), one of the victims of the Nazi regime. Hillesum’s diaries and letters illustrate her heroic struggle to come to terms with her personal life in the context of the Holocaust. This volume revives Hillesum research with a comprehensive rereading of her texts but also by introducing new sources about her life. With the current rise of interest in peace studies, Judaism, the Holocaust, inter-religious dialogue, gender studies and mysticism, this book will be invaluable to students and scholars in a range of disciplines.
Citation Information
William C McDonough. "Can religion help heal a world broken by trauma?: Etty Hillesum as our ancestor in the qahal goyim" AmsterdamThe Lasting Significance of Etty Hillesum's Writings (2019) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/william-mcdonough/2/
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC_BY International License.