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The death of Elie Wiesel, on July 2^nd, was a profound loss for millions of Jews who admired Wiesel as an author, humanitarian, and a symbol of the injunction to Never Forget. Wiesel was both famous and beloved, an unusual combination nowadays, and indeed, his was the kind of fame that sometimes obscured the particulars of his life: His childhood in Transylvania; his survival in the Nazi death camps (chronicled in his book Night, and elsewhere); his advocacy on behalf of Russian Jewry; his decades of teaching; his astounding literary output; his steadfast support of Israel; and his calm but ferocious commitment to speaking out, whenever and wherever he wanted to. Wiesel couldn’t keep silent. Over hundreds, if not thousands, of interviews, lectures, and articles, he embodied the moral imperative to bear witness, yes, but to intervene as well. Which matters more, speech or action? For Wiesel, the question was silly. There was no distinction. Speech was a form of action. 

 

Wiesel is included in Volume 10 of the Posen Library (both his 1975 essay, “Zionism and Racism,” and his 1977 piece, “To a Young Jew in Soviet Russia,” are included in the Posen Digital Library). But he wasn’t the only Jewish luminary to pass away recently. Saul Leiter, who died in 2013, and is included in Volume 9 of the Posen Library, was a photographer and painter best known for his membership in the New York school of photography. Leiter’s brush with fame occurred in 2012, when the documentary In No Great Hurry—13 Lessons in Life with Saul Leiter captured a life spent behind the lens. The film depicts a man as fearless, in his way, as any activist. There is Leiter aiming his camera—bravely, brazenly—at whatever person or object arouses his interest. Leiter’s photos are gorgeous, peculiar, and sui generis; and the documentary shows a man both somber and playful, as well as eager, in his final years of life, to continue expressing himself in the way he does best.