Diary Sept. 25, outgoing Rosh Hashanah,
A normal rabbi is busy preparing his speeches for the synagogue services on Erev (the eve of) Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. In addition, he will assist his wife with the preparation of the elaborate and festive Yom Tov meals, which will of course be attended by guests. And because the usual daily rabbinical concerns also continue, his day is quite full.
My experience on Monday, the day before Rosh Hashanah, was different. At 11:00 a.m., I was expected at the entrance of the Physics Laboratory on Bijlhouwerstraat in Utrecht for the unveiling of a Stolperstein in memory of Prof. Dr. L.S. Ornstein. This highly gifted scientist, who was rector magnificus of Utrecht University in the academic year 1931-1932, died in May 1941. He was co-founder of the Dutch Physics Association and enjoyed great international renown as director of the Physics Laboratory. But after the occupation, his career came to an abrupt end. His colleagues dismissed him as professor and director of ‘his’ Physics Laboratory, not because of poor performance, not because of budget cuts, not even because he was a passionate Zionist. No, his only sin was that he was Jewish! He was buried at the Jewish cemetery in Utrecht amid great interest. Apparently, even then, there was ‘more respect for dead Jews than for living Jews’, flashed through my mind, a thought that I still hear regularly today from the wider Jewish community. Interestingly, at that time, Zionism was not yet a crime…
The Stolperstein was placed by a great-granddaughter of Prof. Dr. Leonard Salomon Ornstein together with the mayor of Utrecht, Sharon Dijksma. It was good to see that Utrecht University and the current management of the Physics Laboratory were well represented at a high level. A sign of respect for the once internationally renowned and beloved scientist, but at the same time, perhaps unintentionally, an indirect protest against his premature dismissal by his own colleagues, his friends, and his own students. Ornstein did not die in May 1941, no, he collapsed. He collapsed from pain and grief because of his dismissal. His Jewish name is inscribed on his tombstone: Arjeh Salomon, son of Natan. The translation of Arjeh is lion. Ornstein was like a lion, the king of beasts. Scientifically, he was comparable to a king, a leader who towered above the average physicist. King Solomon was the epitome of wisdom, and the name Natan, of whom Ornstein was a son, means ‘gift’. He was a gift to science and therefore also to his University of Utrecht and his Physics Laboratory.
But there is something else on his tombstone, besides dates and names: Be strong and let us empower each other!
In my speech, I referred to that text. In the years 1940-1945, the five percent of heroic resistance fighters who remained strong proved unable to steer the crowd in the right direction. It was the other five percent who collaborated with the Nazis who determined the direction of the large crowd, the ever-following herd. And so the once celebrated Ornstein was dismissed by his own people because he was Jewish. I hope that my words have conveyed this warning to the present day, including at universities. And if my warning message has been heard, I hope that it will reach further than merely being heard.
In Yiddish, there is a word herren, which means to hear, and a word derherren. Hearing is superficial; you have heard something, but the message has not gotten through. Derherren means that what you have heard has also penetrated you. And that was exactly what Rosh Hashanah was all about. Not just reciting the words of the prayers, not just hearing beautiful thoughts about how to repent, being impressed by a beautiful speech or a moving melody. The biblical Rosh Hashanah call to improve yourself and, with yourself, your environment, must land, enter, and produce visible results.
More than in previous years, on Rosh Hashanah, God was implored for shalom. Shalom in Israel, shalom outside Israel, shalom at universities, shalom for every creature on our rather complicated planet, shalom also within yourself, peace… peace… being able to nuance… no herd behavior!
