Rabbi Yonassan Gershom has written a different sort of Holocaust memoir. His new book examines the voices and experiences of those who were there and who did not come back -- at least not right away.
Beyond the Ashes: Cases of Reincarnation from the Holocaust will be released in December [1992] by A.R.E. Press. The book is an anecdotal account of people who believe that they died in the Holocaust and have been reincarnated.
Rabbi Gershom teaches at the Institute for Adult Jewish Studies at the Minneapolis Talmud Torah, and is religious coordinator at Texas Terrace Convalescent Center in St. Louis Park.
"Some of these people have apparently returned as Jews, while others have come back as non-Jews who are inexplicably drawn to Jewish prayers, rituals, and traditions," writes Gershom.
Over the past 10 years [as of 1992], literally hundreds of people from all walks of life have shared their past-life memories with Gershom, describing flashbacks, dreams, and visions of dying in the Holocaust.
"Some of the people interviewed for the book are Jews by choice [converts] who see reincarnation as the reason they converted," Gershom said. "They feel that they are really Jewish souls who somehow got separated from their people, and are now re-joining the Covenant. These are not crackpots, but sincere religious seekers."
Not all the cases described are converts, however. Gershom also interviewed people who were born Jewish, and who hold similar beliefs about living previous lives in the Holocaust. These Jews range from very secular people who never thought much about reincarnation, to kabbalists and Hasidim, for whom teachings about re-birth (gilgul in Hebrew) are acceptable doctrine.
"Many modern Jews have never heard that we have teachings on reincarnation," said Gershom. "So when they have these experiences, they go to Eastern or New Age religions for an explanation. Whether or not you believe these stories, I think my book will go a long way toward making the public aware that authentic Jewish teachings on this subject do exist."
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