E. Symchoni [i.e. Simcha Elberg]. Alein…Lieder [”Alone…”]

(HOLOCAUST).

S. Joseleviciaus

Kaunas (Kovne)

1940

FIRST EDITION. Yiddish text. Inscribed by the author in an emotional, poetic Hebrew in Kobe, Japan, dated 12-2-41. “Presented to my dear friend…upon his emigration to the United States. Remember my convulsive, lonely soul and the days of wandering in Kovne which we both suffered. Take me out from the upheaval of Kobe and find a nest for my weary head.”

Slim booklet of poems concerning the impending slaughter of the Jews of Europe and the author’s wanderings across the globe seeking safety. Most of these poems were written “when the shadow of death knocked on my door” (p. 7). An example is the poem entitled “Alarm” (p. 47). “Hello Radio Warsaw, I am sending an alarm, I am the messenger of death, the sun will set in red today, it is the stain of your blood, all heavens break out today in a cry… a black day is coming upon you, get dressed in shrouds say ‘vidui’ (confession before death), prepare a purification board (for washing the dead before burial)…” Rabbi Simcha Elberg (1915-95), was a renowned Polish Talmudic scholar who also wrote a number of poetic works under the pseudonym “E. Symchoni.” During World War II, he escaped with the Mirrer Yeshiva to Shanghai via Kobe, Japan. He settled in New York in 1947 where he served as editor of HaPardes, a journal of Talmudic studies. He also served as a member of the executive committee of Agudath Israel of America.