As a fiddler picked up his bow and struck the first notes of an old Yiddish folk song, a vibrant grin lit Zelig Birn's face. And glancing around at the friends filling his Willow Glen home, he wept for the first time that afternoon.
"I wish my family could be here," Birn cried. On that sunny Sunday afternoon last November, Birn fulfilled his dream of presenting a Torah scroll to the Jewish community of Congregation Am Echad on Meridian Ave. His tears were a mixture of incredible pride over fulfilling his dream, and sorrow that his loved ones couldn't be there to share his joy.
Over the past several weeks, his synagogue, Congregation Am Echad, while mourning the loss of this cherished member of Willow Glen's Jewish community, has found consolation in the belief that Birn is now reunited with his family. Birn passed away last month after more than 90 years of surviving incredible obstacles. Birn's exact age is unknown because his birth records were destroyed by Nazis.
Polish-born Birn worked in the fabric trade until the war began, when he and his family were sent to concentration camps. Birn lost his wife, two daughters, mother, five siblings and numerous members of his extended family in the camps. By the end of the war, he had survived Auschwitz and Dachau.
According to synagogue president Dr. Andy Hartman, Birn's skill as a glazier made him valuable to German soldiers, who often forced him to repair blown-out windows after bombings. His knowledge of Yiddish, German, Polish and Russian also helped Birn survive--he was often used as an interpreter.
But anyone who knew Birn attributes his long life to his phenomenal strength.
"He's just incredible. He has such a will," said Gaby Neuburger, one of Birn's caretakers, at November's Torah dedication ceremony.
Before the procession from Birn's home to Congregation Am Echad to present Birn's Torah, different community members took turns trying to keep the excited Birn in his wheelchair. He repeatedly popped up to greet friends and pass out candy to passersby.
The Torah scroll commissioned by Birn consists of the Books of Moses, or the first five books of the Bible. Written with a feather quill on kosher parchments by a scribe in Israel, the scrolls took nine months to complete.
Birn had dreamed about donating a Torah scroll for years. After a sudden heart attack last spring, and an ensuing bout of pneumonia, many worried he wouldn't realize his final wish. Friends called it a miracle that he survived the heart attack and lived to carry the scroll to the synagogue under the traditional chupah, or Jewish wedding canopy.
"We all felt that once he got the Torah to the synagogue, he would pass away shortly afterwards," Hartman says. "It seemed like the last thing he was set on doing before he died."
According to Ali Canon, program director for the Holocaust Center of Northern California, Birn was one of more than 2,000 Holocaust survivors living in the northern portion of the state. Statistics have been difficult to gather because many survivors remain silent about the painful experience of the Holocaust, even with their own children. It's estimated that 150,000 survivors are living in the country.
During Birn's life, he served as a strong unifying force in the Congregation Am Echad community.
"A day didn't pass while Mr. Birn was in the hospital that he didn't have visitors," Neuburger says.
Last week, Congregation Am Echad marked the 30 days that have passed since Birn's death. While mourning the loss of a remarkable man, community members are also honoring the lasting contributions he made to the community.
"We've been reading that Torah every week, and every time we do I think of Mr. Birn," Hartman says. "The scrolls, and our memories of him, will last forever."
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
