haley-hermanson.html

Haley Hermanson’s letter to Terri Treseder, “Hear O Israel”

Dear Ms. Treseder,

I read my first book on the Holocaust in fourth grade.  The book was “Number the Stars” and it was a good book, but I did not understand why the Jewish girl and her family in the story were treated the way they were.  Confused, I went to the library to look for books on the Holocaust to find out more about it.  I came across your book, “Hear O Israel.”  I checked it out, not thinking it was anything special.  When I got home, I read it and cried.  How could Isaac’s family be treated so terribly?  Couldn’t people see that the Jews were no different from them?  I was very touched and read it over and over again.  Each time, I cried or came close to tears.  Isaac was very brave:  he lost his mother, his grandparents, his sisters, and his little brother, and yet he still had faith.  I related to Isaac because I lost my father when I was five years old.  I know what it feels like to lose someone that you love.  I know how it hurts.  I, however, lost only my father and he lost almost all the family he had.  How terrible!  What really moved me is that even though Isaac knew he was going to die, he still had faith.  He believed in the Lord even after he was condemned to die.  He believed in the Lord even though he had done nothing to deserve to die.  I could not believe his strong faith, and when I was pondering this, it hit me.  That’s what faith is; believing no matter what.  The Jews believed until the end.  They believed.  Your book is truly amazing.  it has inspired me to become a historical-fiction author someday.  The words that the men said as they walked to their deaths will stay with me forever:  “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Hear O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is one.”  I think about the last thing that Isaac said:  “As I looked at the men around me, I knew that they knew.  They knew they were going to die.  They were men, and I was proud to be a man among them.”  Thank you for changing me with “Hear O Israel.”  Thank you for showing me what faith is.

Sincerely,
Haley Hermanson