Time for a Cup of Tea -- and To Tell You A Little About Elie Wiesel

This is the first time I've had time for a mid-day cup of tea all week. Soon, I have to shift gears and get ready for school, but I just wanted to tell you a little bit about my interview with Elie Wiesel on Tuesday night. In the end, I didn't get much one-on-one time with him, and because we were at a fundraising dinner, he had to shake hands with a lot of people who were as eager as me tomeet him. I did get to ask him a couple of questions, though. One of the questions was suggested by my colleague Michael Tritt, who teaches Jewish Literature at Marianopolis. He wanted to know how Wiesel feels about the fact that Holocaust survivors are dying out -- and how that affects Wiesel's sense of mission. Anyway, Wiesel had a wonderful wonderful answer that made me feel very glad. He said, "I believe anyone who listens to a witness becomes a witness. Everyone who has spoken to a survivor is a witness to that survivor." So, in some small way, in my new book, What World Is Left, I've done that, too -- passed on my mother's story to a new generation of readers, who can then become witnesses. No word yet on when my profile of Wiesel will run in the National Post, but I'll let you know. Time for me to sip my tea and reflect a little about all  I've learned lately....