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The Judges
From Elie Wiesel, a gripping novel of guilt, innocence, and the perilousness of judging both.
A plane en route from New York to Tel Aviv is forced down by bad weather. A nearby house provides refuge for five of its Claudia, who has left her husband and found new love; Razziel, a religious teacher who was once a political prisoner; Yoav, a terminally ill Israeli commando; George, an archivist who is hiding a Holocaust secret that could bring down a certain politician; and Bruce, a would-be priest turned philanderer.
Their host—an enigmatic and disquieting man who calls himself simply the Judge—begins to interrogate them, forcing them to face the truth and meaning of their lives. Soon he announces that one of them—the least worthy—will die.
The Judges is a powerful novel that reflects the philosophical, religious, and moral questions that are at the heart of Elie Wiesel’s work.
A plane en route from New York to Tel Aviv is forced down by bad weather. A nearby house provides refuge for five of its Claudia, who has left her husband and found new love; Razziel, a religious teacher who was once a political prisoner; Yoav, a terminally ill Israeli commando; George, an archivist who is hiding a Holocaust secret that could bring down a certain politician; and Bruce, a would-be priest turned philanderer.
Their host—an enigmatic and disquieting man who calls himself simply the Judge—begins to interrogate them, forcing them to face the truth and meaning of their lives. Soon he announces that one of them—the least worthy—will die.
The Judges is a powerful novel that reflects the philosophical, religious, and moral questions that are at the heart of Elie Wiesel’s work.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
29 people are currently reading
815 people want to read
About the author
Elie Wiesel
274 books4,552 followersEliezer "Elie" Wiesel was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in French and English, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.
In his political activities Wiesel became a regular speaker on the subject of the Holocaust and remained a strong defender of human rights during his lifetime. He also advocated for many other causes like the state of Israel and against Hamas and victims of oppression including Soviet and Ethiopian Jews, the apartheid in South Africa, the Bosnian genocide, Sudan, the Kurds and the Armenian genocide, Argentina's Desaparecidos or Nicaragua's Miskito people.
He was a professor of the humanities at Boston University, which created the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies in his honor. He was involved with Jewish causes and human rights causes and helped establish the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Wiesel was awarded various prestigious awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was a founding board member of the New York Human Rights Foundation and remained active in it throughout his life.
In his political activities Wiesel became a regular speaker on the subject of the Holocaust and remained a strong defender of human rights during his lifetime. He also advocated for many other causes like the state of Israel and against Hamas and victims of oppression including Soviet and Ethiopian Jews, the apartheid in South Africa, the Bosnian genocide, Sudan, the Kurds and the Armenian genocide, Argentina's Desaparecidos or Nicaragua's Miskito people.
He was a professor of the humanities at Boston University, which created the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies in his honor. He was involved with Jewish causes and human rights causes and helped establish the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Wiesel was awarded various prestigious awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was a founding board member of the New York Human Rights Foundation and remained active in it throughout his life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
August 30, 2013
I really wanted to like this more than I did, but I just couldn't.
September 5, 2017
Rating: 4 / 5
"I put this question to her: 'Do you know what a sinner is?'...Without hesitation, she answered, '...A sinner is one who loves evil.'...That's quite a good answer. What pleased me is that she said loves evil, not does evil."
The above is taken from The Song of Bernadette, a 1943 drama film about the life of Saint Bernadette. Specifically, the quote is from a scene in which a doctor has been called upon to test Bernadette's sanity, and he is making his report to the authorities of the town in order to ensure them that the young girl is perfectly sane. Her answer, as mentioned above, is what pleases him most.
Odd as it may seem, I thought this quote strangely applicable to Elie Wiesel's story that I've just read. Namely, I would apply it most readily to the Judge himself, whom, as it is revealed towards the end, looks to evil as a means of solving problems in the world, as the "absolute end" in the place of death, an infallible power of some sort. He makes a speech about this to Razziel, who is, for all intents and purposes, the closest we have to being the main protagonist in the story. But Razziel, despite having undergone who knows what as a political prisoner, to the point of losing his memory, looks upon the Judge's proclamation with horror and insists to the contrary.
Consider me on Team Razziel.
You know, it wasn't until the end of the book that I really got around to hating and being frightened of the Judge. Oh, I knew he was serious about his "game" and whatnot, but I didn't know how far gone into madness he really was. But then, as soon as some cuckoo goes around saying that evil is man's true desire, to take away from the innocence and goodness of others for their own sick pleasure is the true way throughout life, and that evil outlives God himself, then you know that you've got a character with a pretty twisted mind.
I'll admit, for those looking to read a book that's psychoanalytical in nature or contains a lot of psychological elements to play around with, then I'm afraid that they'll be disappointed. The majority of the book, I would say, is made up of the recollections of the five people at the Judge's mercy, along with the philosophical lessons that they've learned as a result of those experiences. The characters that are the most in the limelight are Razziel and Yoav, with George as a close third. Claudia and Bruce, maybe because they're the two more flamboyant of the five, get less of a focus, but still enough to paint a pretty clear image of them. Add to this group the Judge himself, as well as the Hunchback as characters playing the "game", and you've got our cast of characters.
Of course, that's excluding the characters from memory, the most prominent of which is Razziel's former cellmate and life mentor, Paritus. Out of all the people mentioned in the five captives' backgrounds, this elusive yet philosophical-natured man is the most real to me, the most influential. With Razziel being placed in the middle, I saw Paritus as the exact opposition to the Judge, the statement of all things good and meaningful in life against all things of evil.
As such, overall, I judge the book to be of a philosophical nature. At first, I'll admit that I wasn't much inclined to reading it, given the poor ratings and reviews that I've seen on Goodreads. But I'd already purchased it cheap at a thrift shop because it's summary on the back looked compelling, so my thought was at least to chuck it off my "to-read" list by at least taking a look at it. I wasn't captivated, per se, but I was interested enough to go further.
As I got further along, I couldn't understand the low ratings on this book, and am prepared to defend it against criticism. It's really more brilliant than what people give it credit for, but, that being said, I haven't read any of this author's other works, which are presumably better. I'll have to take a look and see for myself.
The low ratings, I'll assume, have to do with people losing interest, most likely because of a mistaken area of interest. After all, with those expecting psychology receive philosophy instead, it's understandable for them to be a bit put out at the resulting text. For myself though, overall I enjoyed it.
"I put this question to her: 'Do you know what a sinner is?'...Without hesitation, she answered, '...A sinner is one who loves evil.'...That's quite a good answer. What pleased me is that she said loves evil, not does evil."
The above is taken from The Song of Bernadette, a 1943 drama film about the life of Saint Bernadette. Specifically, the quote is from a scene in which a doctor has been called upon to test Bernadette's sanity, and he is making his report to the authorities of the town in order to ensure them that the young girl is perfectly sane. Her answer, as mentioned above, is what pleases him most.
Odd as it may seem, I thought this quote strangely applicable to Elie Wiesel's story that I've just read. Namely, I would apply it most readily to the Judge himself, whom, as it is revealed towards the end, looks to evil as a means of solving problems in the world, as the "absolute end" in the place of death, an infallible power of some sort. He makes a speech about this to Razziel, who is, for all intents and purposes, the closest we have to being the main protagonist in the story. But Razziel, despite having undergone who knows what as a political prisoner, to the point of losing his memory, looks upon the Judge's proclamation with horror and insists to the contrary.
Consider me on Team Razziel.
You know, it wasn't until the end of the book that I really got around to hating and being frightened of the Judge. Oh, I knew he was serious about his "game" and whatnot, but I didn't know how far gone into madness he really was. But then, as soon as some cuckoo goes around saying that evil is man's true desire, to take away from the innocence and goodness of others for their own sick pleasure is the true way throughout life, and that evil outlives God himself, then you know that you've got a character with a pretty twisted mind.
I'll admit, for those looking to read a book that's psychoanalytical in nature or contains a lot of psychological elements to play around with, then I'm afraid that they'll be disappointed. The majority of the book, I would say, is made up of the recollections of the five people at the Judge's mercy, along with the philosophical lessons that they've learned as a result of those experiences. The characters that are the most in the limelight are Razziel and Yoav, with George as a close third. Claudia and Bruce, maybe because they're the two more flamboyant of the five, get less of a focus, but still enough to paint a pretty clear image of them. Add to this group the Judge himself, as well as the Hunchback as characters playing the "game", and you've got our cast of characters.
Of course, that's excluding the characters from memory, the most prominent of which is Razziel's former cellmate and life mentor, Paritus. Out of all the people mentioned in the five captives' backgrounds, this elusive yet philosophical-natured man is the most real to me, the most influential. With Razziel being placed in the middle, I saw Paritus as the exact opposition to the Judge, the statement of all things good and meaningful in life against all things of evil.
As such, overall, I judge the book to be of a philosophical nature. At first, I'll admit that I wasn't much inclined to reading it, given the poor ratings and reviews that I've seen on Goodreads. But I'd already purchased it cheap at a thrift shop because it's summary on the back looked compelling, so my thought was at least to chuck it off my "to-read" list by at least taking a look at it. I wasn't captivated, per se, but I was interested enough to go further.
As I got further along, I couldn't understand the low ratings on this book, and am prepared to defend it against criticism. It's really more brilliant than what people give it credit for, but, that being said, I haven't read any of this author's other works, which are presumably better. I'll have to take a look and see for myself.
The low ratings, I'll assume, have to do with people losing interest, most likely because of a mistaken area of interest. After all, with those expecting psychology receive philosophy instead, it's understandable for them to be a bit put out at the resulting text. For myself though, overall I enjoyed it.
June 25, 2012
It was a struggle for me to finish this book. I didn't like the characters, but I didn't hate them either. There was way too much weird philosophizing for my tastes. The end of the book was the highlight, partly because it was the best part of the story but mostly because it meant the book was over.
January 11, 2020
Achjo. Tohle vypadalo tak zajímavě. Pošahaný soudce zavře po nouzovém přistání 5 cizích lidí do jednoho pokoje a rozehraje s nimi psychologickou hru. Super. Ale proč se to proboha muselo zvrtnout v náboženskou pseudo filozofickou úvahu o životě a smrti? Raziel a jeho back story pro mě byla vyloženě úmorná, zbytek postav byl alespoň o něco lidštější. Konec jsem čekala, zároveň to nebylo nic moc uspokojivého. Celkově horší průměr - bohužel
December 10, 2019
Was a struggle to finish, unlikeable characters.
March 27, 2023
I would have rated this as only 2 stars if it weren’t for the last 30 or so pages. The first 170 or so weren’t my genre but I hate not finishing a book. Read the synapsis on the cover flap to see if you might be interested.
October 26, 2008
Elie Wiesel adalah peraih Nobel Perdamaian tahun 1986, saat itu usianya lima puluh delapan tahun. Ia telah menghasilkan lebih dari empat puluh buku. Di antaranya yang paling terkenal adalah La Nuit (1958), yang ditulisnya sebagai memoar selama ia menjalani masa tahanannya di kamp konsentrasi Buchenwald. Dia adalah saksi hidup sejarah pahit orang-orang Yahudi yang mengalami sendiri kekejaman kemanusiaan oleh NAZI Jerman. Maka, tidaklah mengejutkan jika karya fiksinya banyak berlatar belakang peristiwa holocaust itu. Ia memang Yahudi keturunan Rumania.
Namun, dalam The Judges (Sang Hakim), yang terbit pertama kali tahun 2002, Wiesel menyajikan cerita lain, meski tetap menampilkan sisi humanisme yang selalu disuarakannya tanpa henti. Ironisnya, seperti ditulis dalam pengantar penerbit di buku ini, Wiesel justru diam seribu bahasa tatkala Zionis Israel melakukan pelanggaran kemanusiaan terhadap Bangsa Palestina. Sebagai seorang yang gencar mengampanyekan isu-isu kemanusiaan, ia memilih membungkam menyaksikan pelanggaran HAM yang terjadi di depan hidungnya itu. Bagaimana bisa ia yang pernah merasakan sendiri kepedihan akibat direnggutkannya hak-haknya sebagai manusia bebas oleh NAZI bersikap mendua seperti itu? Ah..ternyata, bahkan seorang "pahlawan" pun sulit bersikap objektif mana kala dihadapkan pada kepentingan kebangsaannya. Rasa kebangsaannya mengatasi rasa kemanusiaannya.
The Judges berkisah tentang lima orang penumpang dari pesawat yang terpaksa melakukan pendaratan darurat di sebuah lapangan udara kecil di Connecticut akibat badai salju yang hebat. Pesawat yang sedianya akan membawa mereka dari Amerika Serikat menuju Israel itu, untuk sementara tak bisa melanjutkan penerbangan.
Setengah jam kemudian, datanglah sejumlah mobil yang lalu mengangkut seluruh penumpang ke tempat-tempat penampungan sementara sambil menunggu cuaca membaik. Ke lima orang yang akan dikisahkan ini secara kebetulan berada dalam mobil yang sama. Mereka adalah : Claudia, George, Bruce, Yoav, dan Razziel.
Mobil tersebut membawa mereka ke sebuah rumah balok kayu di sebuah desa terpencil dekat pegunungan antara New York dan Boston. Tuan rumah yang menerima mereka adalah seorang lelaki yang menyebut dirinya Sang Hakim, bersama seorang pelayan dengan panggilan Si Bongkok. Alih-alih menolong para korban, ternyata Sang Hakim malah menjadikan mereka berlima sebagai tawanan yang harus ikut serta dalam permainan yang telah disiapkannya. Pada akhir permainan nanti, salah seorang dari mereka -- yang paling tidak berharga -- harus mati.
Jika Wiesel dengan kisahnya kali ini hendak bermaksud menciptakan sebuah ketegangan bagi para pembacanya, maka ia tak terlalu berhasil, walaupun sempat muncul juga pertanyaan tentang siapakah yang akan mati? Siapakah Sang Hakim? Yang saya tangkap justru satu cerita tentang cinta dan kehidupan ketimbang sebuah kisah thriller. Selimut misteri yang berusaha dibangun, dengan susah payah hadir -- meski tidak maksimal -- di tengah cerita. Alhasil, kejutan yang saya harapkan ada di akhir cerita sebagai klimaksnya -- seperti pada kisah-kisah misteri -- tak sesuai harapan. Atau jangan-jangan, The Judges ini memang bukan kisah misteri ya?
Melalui para tokohnya yang dibiarkan bertutur sendiri-sendiri (memakai gaya orang ke tiga) pada saat mereka mengingat kembali perjalanan hidup mereka selama ini, Wiesel mengalirkan jalan ceritanya. George si Juru Arsip, Claudia, si cantik yang bekerja di sebuah teater, Bruce yang playboy, dan Yoav, seorang tentara, serta Razziel, seorang guru agama. Ke limanya menyodorkan persoalan yang tengah mereka hadapi, mengajak pembaca menggali ke kedalaman perasaan seorang manusia. Semuanya merasa berhak untuk terus melanjutkan hidup yang berharga ini. Tak ada yang rela mati demi yang lain, sebab di suatu tempat di dunia ini, masih ada orang-orang tercinta yang menanti kedatangan mereka : istri, kekasih, anak-anak, ayah, sahabat.... Ah, mengapa kita, manusia, selalu saja terlambat menyadari betapa beruntungnya diri ini karena memiliki orang-orang yang dengannya kita dapat berbagi rasa cinta?
Novel-novel Elie Wiesel yang lain adalah : La Nuit/Night(1958), Dawn (1960), The Accident (1961), A Jew Today (1978), The Fifth Son (1985) dll. Dan mengingat ia adalah seorang yang telah dianugerahi Nobel Prize for Peace, saya amat berharap, satu hari nanti ia akan membuka mata hatinya lebih luas lagi agar dapat lebih adil dalam melihat dan menyikapi perseteruan antara Israel dan Palestina
Namun, dalam The Judges (Sang Hakim), yang terbit pertama kali tahun 2002, Wiesel menyajikan cerita lain, meski tetap menampilkan sisi humanisme yang selalu disuarakannya tanpa henti. Ironisnya, seperti ditulis dalam pengantar penerbit di buku ini, Wiesel justru diam seribu bahasa tatkala Zionis Israel melakukan pelanggaran kemanusiaan terhadap Bangsa Palestina. Sebagai seorang yang gencar mengampanyekan isu-isu kemanusiaan, ia memilih membungkam menyaksikan pelanggaran HAM yang terjadi di depan hidungnya itu. Bagaimana bisa ia yang pernah merasakan sendiri kepedihan akibat direnggutkannya hak-haknya sebagai manusia bebas oleh NAZI bersikap mendua seperti itu? Ah..ternyata, bahkan seorang "pahlawan" pun sulit bersikap objektif mana kala dihadapkan pada kepentingan kebangsaannya. Rasa kebangsaannya mengatasi rasa kemanusiaannya.
The Judges berkisah tentang lima orang penumpang dari pesawat yang terpaksa melakukan pendaratan darurat di sebuah lapangan udara kecil di Connecticut akibat badai salju yang hebat. Pesawat yang sedianya akan membawa mereka dari Amerika Serikat menuju Israel itu, untuk sementara tak bisa melanjutkan penerbangan.
Setengah jam kemudian, datanglah sejumlah mobil yang lalu mengangkut seluruh penumpang ke tempat-tempat penampungan sementara sambil menunggu cuaca membaik. Ke lima orang yang akan dikisahkan ini secara kebetulan berada dalam mobil yang sama. Mereka adalah : Claudia, George, Bruce, Yoav, dan Razziel.
Mobil tersebut membawa mereka ke sebuah rumah balok kayu di sebuah desa terpencil dekat pegunungan antara New York dan Boston. Tuan rumah yang menerima mereka adalah seorang lelaki yang menyebut dirinya Sang Hakim, bersama seorang pelayan dengan panggilan Si Bongkok. Alih-alih menolong para korban, ternyata Sang Hakim malah menjadikan mereka berlima sebagai tawanan yang harus ikut serta dalam permainan yang telah disiapkannya. Pada akhir permainan nanti, salah seorang dari mereka -- yang paling tidak berharga -- harus mati.
Jika Wiesel dengan kisahnya kali ini hendak bermaksud menciptakan sebuah ketegangan bagi para pembacanya, maka ia tak terlalu berhasil, walaupun sempat muncul juga pertanyaan tentang siapakah yang akan mati? Siapakah Sang Hakim? Yang saya tangkap justru satu cerita tentang cinta dan kehidupan ketimbang sebuah kisah thriller. Selimut misteri yang berusaha dibangun, dengan susah payah hadir -- meski tidak maksimal -- di tengah cerita. Alhasil, kejutan yang saya harapkan ada di akhir cerita sebagai klimaksnya -- seperti pada kisah-kisah misteri -- tak sesuai harapan. Atau jangan-jangan, The Judges ini memang bukan kisah misteri ya?
Melalui para tokohnya yang dibiarkan bertutur sendiri-sendiri (memakai gaya orang ke tiga) pada saat mereka mengingat kembali perjalanan hidup mereka selama ini, Wiesel mengalirkan jalan ceritanya. George si Juru Arsip, Claudia, si cantik yang bekerja di sebuah teater, Bruce yang playboy, dan Yoav, seorang tentara, serta Razziel, seorang guru agama. Ke limanya menyodorkan persoalan yang tengah mereka hadapi, mengajak pembaca menggali ke kedalaman perasaan seorang manusia. Semuanya merasa berhak untuk terus melanjutkan hidup yang berharga ini. Tak ada yang rela mati demi yang lain, sebab di suatu tempat di dunia ini, masih ada orang-orang tercinta yang menanti kedatangan mereka : istri, kekasih, anak-anak, ayah, sahabat.... Ah, mengapa kita, manusia, selalu saja terlambat menyadari betapa beruntungnya diri ini karena memiliki orang-orang yang dengannya kita dapat berbagi rasa cinta?
Novel-novel Elie Wiesel yang lain adalah : La Nuit/Night(1958), Dawn (1960), The Accident (1961), A Jew Today (1978), The Fifth Son (1985) dll. Dan mengingat ia adalah seorang yang telah dianugerahi Nobel Prize for Peace, saya amat berharap, satu hari nanti ia akan membuka mata hatinya lebih luas lagi agar dapat lebih adil dalam melihat dan menyikapi perseteruan antara Israel dan Palestina
June 13, 2010
This book was filled with powerful truths for me, as Mr. Wiesel's books usually are. The premise: a madman takes in 5 stranded travelers in the guise of being a good samaritan and then puts them on trial with the verdict meaning that one of the five must die so that the others might live. Each of the five hold secrets that could damn them in the eyes of "the Judge". This story and Mr. Wiesel's always powerful words caused me to do much soul searching.
Favorite quotes (I will try to keep it down, there are a ton.)
"People are mistaken if they believe that the only choice is between silence and speech. One silence can hide another. In a moment of grace sometimes we are able to lift one of these layers of silence. But at once others arise and confuse us."
"I should say that silence can certainly be found in archives. The memory of silence is something we crave and seek. But as for the silence of memory - that, never."
"We derive our grief, as the artist does his inspiration, from the most mysterious point in our being."
"In friendship the ego is not dissolved in the other; on the contrary, it blossoms. Unlike love, friendship does not declare that one plus one makes one; rather that one plus one makes two. Each of the two is enriched by and for the other."
"Loving the unexpected is to define yourself in relation to miracles."
"Weeping is a miracle too."
"In the beginning, traditon tell us, was the word. But before that? Before the first word was spoken by God, what was there? It was from this silence that language was born. In wakening into life, and therefore to consciousness, man found himself enclosed in a silence that exceeded him and at the same time provoked him. He broke the silence in order to fulfill himself, in accordance with the divine will, and began, like God to mkae use of language. There comes this tension in us - the first tension, created by desire and violation - between spoken words, human language, and silence, which lays claim to being the language of God. The secret of the one matches the mystery of the other. But language, like silence, is not without its dangers; the poet and the visionary boht bear the burning seal of the words behind the words. In childhood, searching for the truth of despair man aspires with all his being to silence - to the mystic silence that suggests the inaccessible, the forbidden, and the beyond. Masters teach him how to purify everyday language through the silence of sacrifice, in order to hasten the end of all times. Let all men be silent, or speak without lying, without demeaning their souls, and the Savior will be there. And when he will be there, men will come from all over to salute him with long cries of joy and songs of happiness. But the Messiah, in his melancholy, will remain silent."
"What people who are alternately attracted by language and by silence don't understand is that there can be silence in talk and talk in silence. They don't understand that what is revealed keeps its own mystery."
"Miracles were for other people. It's always other people who need them. They happen for all kinds of people but not me. I have to get by without them. The prisoner cannot free himself from his own prison, says the Talumd. Nor can the sick man heal himself. But what about God, Father? God has need of man in order to be God. Who knows? Perhaps He too needs miracles."
"You must learn to dance. When you dance you lift yourself into the air. Only to fall back again? So what? When he comes back to earth, man is no longer the same."
"The love inside you will enable you to perform miracles. You will help our people overcome despair by celebrating joy and generosity, which have long been in exile, also awaiting their deliverance. And when this comes about, know that it is not you who have accomplished these miracles but the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You are only His messenger."
"I pity you because you are without hope. I am not saying that you are in despair; that is something else. To be in despair can be useful and fruitful; to live without hope is not."
"Remember that it is not knowledge but the yearning for knowledge that makes for a complete, accomplished man."
Favorite quotes (I will try to keep it down, there are a ton.)
"People are mistaken if they believe that the only choice is between silence and speech. One silence can hide another. In a moment of grace sometimes we are able to lift one of these layers of silence. But at once others arise and confuse us."
"I should say that silence can certainly be found in archives. The memory of silence is something we crave and seek. But as for the silence of memory - that, never."
"We derive our grief, as the artist does his inspiration, from the most mysterious point in our being."
"In friendship the ego is not dissolved in the other; on the contrary, it blossoms. Unlike love, friendship does not declare that one plus one makes one; rather that one plus one makes two. Each of the two is enriched by and for the other."
"Loving the unexpected is to define yourself in relation to miracles."
"Weeping is a miracle too."
"In the beginning, traditon tell us, was the word. But before that? Before the first word was spoken by God, what was there? It was from this silence that language was born. In wakening into life, and therefore to consciousness, man found himself enclosed in a silence that exceeded him and at the same time provoked him. He broke the silence in order to fulfill himself, in accordance with the divine will, and began, like God to mkae use of language. There comes this tension in us - the first tension, created by desire and violation - between spoken words, human language, and silence, which lays claim to being the language of God. The secret of the one matches the mystery of the other. But language, like silence, is not without its dangers; the poet and the visionary boht bear the burning seal of the words behind the words. In childhood, searching for the truth of despair man aspires with all his being to silence - to the mystic silence that suggests the inaccessible, the forbidden, and the beyond. Masters teach him how to purify everyday language through the silence of sacrifice, in order to hasten the end of all times. Let all men be silent, or speak without lying, without demeaning their souls, and the Savior will be there. And when he will be there, men will come from all over to salute him with long cries of joy and songs of happiness. But the Messiah, in his melancholy, will remain silent."
"What people who are alternately attracted by language and by silence don't understand is that there can be silence in talk and talk in silence. They don't understand that what is revealed keeps its own mystery."
"Miracles were for other people. It's always other people who need them. They happen for all kinds of people but not me. I have to get by without them. The prisoner cannot free himself from his own prison, says the Talumd. Nor can the sick man heal himself. But what about God, Father? God has need of man in order to be God. Who knows? Perhaps He too needs miracles."
"You must learn to dance. When you dance you lift yourself into the air. Only to fall back again? So what? When he comes back to earth, man is no longer the same."
"The love inside you will enable you to perform miracles. You will help our people overcome despair by celebrating joy and generosity, which have long been in exile, also awaiting their deliverance. And when this comes about, know that it is not you who have accomplished these miracles but the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You are only His messenger."
"I pity you because you are without hope. I am not saying that you are in despair; that is something else. To be in despair can be useful and fruitful; to live without hope is not."
"Remember that it is not knowledge but the yearning for knowledge that makes for a complete, accomplished man."
October 30, 2008
Personally, I chose to read the book because Elie Wiesel wrote and and after reading Night, I like his writing. After reading this book, I noticed that Elie is very descriptive in his writing, but it's the descriptive type that makes you feel tense and you can picture how everything in the story is happening.
The characters in the story were very distinct from each other and I found that very interesting. The story takes place in a room of 6 people, that were navigating to Tel Aviv but stopped and taken to this room. These 6 people are trapped in this room and are under the ruling of someone named the Judge. I found it interesting how all of these characters, comming from different backgrounds and each have a different story to tell, cross in this mysterious stop and come together to be judged.
I liked it a bit. I gave it three stars because there were parts that were boring or I got lost because of the different stories being told by these people, so I didn't like that. Overall, it was an okay book.
The characters in the story were very distinct from each other and I found that very interesting. The story takes place in a room of 6 people, that were navigating to Tel Aviv but stopped and taken to this room. These 6 people are trapped in this room and are under the ruling of someone named the Judge. I found it interesting how all of these characters, comming from different backgrounds and each have a different story to tell, cross in this mysterious stop and come together to be judged.
I liked it a bit. I gave it three stars because there were parts that were boring or I got lost because of the different stories being told by these people, so I didn't like that. Overall, it was an okay book.
August 24, 2018
The idea of bringing five strangers together in one room to judge and be judged is an experiment of humanity. Elie Wiesel's The Judges does just that. Just five random people from an airplane. No one knowing the other and on an ordinary day none really caring to know the other. By the end of this story they not only know more about each other, but they know more about themselves. They are forced to take a look not on their outward appearance, but to check what really matters in life - the heart. They check their motives in life, ego's, humanity, priorities etc. The battle of good and evil is the underlying theme of this story.
The characters were written out well. I felt like I knew each of them and understood their place in the story. Although I do wonder why some characters got much more story line. Maybe I missed something. I did guess how the story would end early on and was still pleased with the ending. I thought the novel was okay, but nothing I would brag about. Read it or not. I feel I can get something out of everything I read, but this book is not a must read.
The characters were written out well. I felt like I knew each of them and understood their place in the story. Although I do wonder why some characters got much more story line. Maybe I missed something. I did guess how the story would end early on and was still pleased with the ending. I thought the novel was okay, but nothing I would brag about. Read it or not. I feel I can get something out of everything I read, but this book is not a must read.
January 17, 2016
This book was not a winner. The plot, itself was far-fetched ~ an airplane, taking off from New York, makes an emergency landing somewhere in rural New England. A man calling himself "The Judge" takes five passengers in, and won't let them leave. Doesn't the airline know where its passengers are being housed? None of the characters are likable, and they all seem to have an inner dialogue with themselves, although they are told by "the Judge", that one of them will die and they must decide who. Try some of Wiesel's non-fiction instead of this book.
December 6, 2020
A spare, harsh and unflinching story, complete with mystery and suspense. The reader is drawn into a web of intrigue, where five unrelated individuals tell their stories, in an effort to avoid being executed. Their backstories are presented as confessionals, and the mysterious "judge" will listen and choose the one who will sacrifice himself for the good of the others. The allegorical tone and parables presented are intriguing and relevant causing the reader to question his or her own past actions and how they would measure up against the five characters.
May 24, 2012
This wasn't my kind of book. I expected a psychological thriller, and this wasn't one.
July 24, 2013
The blurb said it's similar to Christie's And Then There Were None. Bleh, completely different.
August 13, 2024
If it’s easy, it is probably wrong
Many reviewers found Elie Wiesel's 1999 book "The Judges" difficult and abandoned it before reaching the end. They enjoyed the dozens of this Nobel Peace Prize winners' books but dismissed this one, although it is in easy-to-read English, because they could not understand what was happening. Who were the seven people in the drama? What do they want? Is this a crime novel? Is it a tragedy? They are both right and wrong. True, the first hundred pages of this 209-page work reveal less than it exposes.
But this is not bad. It is good. If something is easy, it is probably wrong. If it is difficult, it builds character. In his Guide for the Perplexed 3:24, Maimonides states that the Hebrew Bible mentions people experiencing trials six times. “People generally have the notion that trials consist in afflictions and mishaps sent by God to man … as a punishment for sins.” But this is not correct.
Trials should be understood as experiences from which we can learn. “The sole object of all the trials mentioned in Scripture is to teach man what he ought to believe; so that the event which forms the trial is not the end desired; it is an example for our instruction and guidance.” Difficulties do not harm us; they are experiences from which we can learn and improve. This reassurance should make readers feel at ease, knowing that the book's challenges are not harmful but beneficial.
Psalm 126, sung by many Jews before saying grace at the end of the Shabbat meal, thanking God for the food, put the thought this way: “Those who plant with tears will reap with glee.”
Yes, each of the seven people in the tale who are flying from the US to Israel has a past that is obscure, troubling, and a reason why they are traveling to Israel, but we do not know who they are, their past, their distresses, concerns, and why they are making this trip. This disconcerted some readers. But those who persevered and continued to the book's second half got answers. And they learned from understanding the experiences of the seven and improved themselves.
The plane they were traveling in encountered a severe snowstorm and needed to land in a rural US area. Passengers are told they must be boarded in different locations until the storm passes, which may be more than a day. Five of them end up in the home of a bizarre man and his deformed servant. The owner imprisons them and forces them to perform strange activities. Readers will wonder if the strange man who is imprisoning them is crazy or if he has a rational reason for his behavior. They will also wonder about the servant. Why is he misshapen? Why is he more like a slave than a servant? Again, facing the difficulty in unraveling the mystery yields much that improves our thinking and behavior.
Many reviewers found Elie Wiesel's 1999 book "The Judges" difficult and abandoned it before reaching the end. They enjoyed the dozens of this Nobel Peace Prize winners' books but dismissed this one, although it is in easy-to-read English, because they could not understand what was happening. Who were the seven people in the drama? What do they want? Is this a crime novel? Is it a tragedy? They are both right and wrong. True, the first hundred pages of this 209-page work reveal less than it exposes.
But this is not bad. It is good. If something is easy, it is probably wrong. If it is difficult, it builds character. In his Guide for the Perplexed 3:24, Maimonides states that the Hebrew Bible mentions people experiencing trials six times. “People generally have the notion that trials consist in afflictions and mishaps sent by God to man … as a punishment for sins.” But this is not correct.
Trials should be understood as experiences from which we can learn. “The sole object of all the trials mentioned in Scripture is to teach man what he ought to believe; so that the event which forms the trial is not the end desired; it is an example for our instruction and guidance.” Difficulties do not harm us; they are experiences from which we can learn and improve. This reassurance should make readers feel at ease, knowing that the book's challenges are not harmful but beneficial.
Psalm 126, sung by many Jews before saying grace at the end of the Shabbat meal, thanking God for the food, put the thought this way: “Those who plant with tears will reap with glee.”
Yes, each of the seven people in the tale who are flying from the US to Israel has a past that is obscure, troubling, and a reason why they are traveling to Israel, but we do not know who they are, their past, their distresses, concerns, and why they are making this trip. This disconcerted some readers. But those who persevered and continued to the book's second half got answers. And they learned from understanding the experiences of the seven and improved themselves.
The plane they were traveling in encountered a severe snowstorm and needed to land in a rural US area. Passengers are told they must be boarded in different locations until the storm passes, which may be more than a day. Five of them end up in the home of a bizarre man and his deformed servant. The owner imprisons them and forces them to perform strange activities. Readers will wonder if the strange man who is imprisoning them is crazy or if he has a rational reason for his behavior. They will also wonder about the servant. Why is he misshapen? Why is he more like a slave than a servant? Again, facing the difficulty in unraveling the mystery yields much that improves our thinking and behavior.
April 29, 2025
I have read Wiesel's Night Trilogy and other books by this marvelous man and author. I believe I have given 5 stars to everything else I have read, but the others address surviving the Holocaust in a more direct manner and with less symbolism. I think that the most significant clue to understanding this narrative lies in the title. It it not The Judge, but The Judges. Five travelers flying to Tel Aviv are forced to land ( perhaps at the hand of their tormentor ) at a remotes airport. Jean-Paul Sartre used the identical situation in his play “No Exit except that his characters are already in "hell". Ultimately told that one will be killed so that the others may live, the protagonists begin to analyize not only do they deserve to live, but do they WANT to live. I believe that Wiesel has always been looking at why he survived the Holocaust; did he survive the Holocaust with the capacity for joy and the desire to live, and what must a survivor do to merit survival? There is always the question of why an omnipotent god allowed the Holocaust and all the atrocities of WWII to happen..... For myself I have resolved this problem via the conclusions of Epicuris. I can believe in a loving god who weeps at what man does, but is incapable of intervening in the lives of man. Perhaps "heaven" is a place of love, complete unity with others and god, and rest. It would be easy to make the "captor" into god who is judging these people who like all of us have remained silent when they should have spoken and behaved selfishly in response to others when we should have given freely. The "captor judge" is not god, for Elie Wiesel would not kill God to render a point. He is simply an evil man who perhaps deserves to die more than the others because he has presumed the role of " god - king " condemning one other human to die. This is a difficult book to read because of its symbolic nature and because it makes one think about whether we deserve to live and / or want to live. At 77 this is a question which comes to my mind more often than I would like. Kristi & Abby Tabby Childless Cat Lady.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2023
i've been inspired by mia b to start leaving goodreads reviews so here goes - this was a quick paced novel that jumped around chronologically and by perspective, and yet it wasn't at all convoluted nor did i find it difficult to follow. it was a nice little work read that i could manage while simultaneously working a cash register (except for this awkward moment where i got too immersed and i did not realize there was a guy needing to check out and it took several moments before i looked up and was like omg im so sorry). i mean this novel is seeped in tragedy from the start but the writing style isn't existential enough to depress me and if you've been on a roll of tragic historical fiction like i have this is a breeze. my favorite thing about this book is how wiesel examined the absolution of death from perspectives that would skew it. there was this beautiful metaphor about the sound of the wind residing permanently in the tree that filled me with inner peace until this madman went on rambling about how the absolution of death fueled his sadistic and sacrificial torment and how he applauded himself in possessing godlike power because of it. he also made some allusions to sartre in regards to trauma that made me think. nearly everything went unresolved in the end, which spoke to the whole accepting uncertainty and nonclosure thing. i liked that this book was intermittently philosophical but you had to sort of connect the dots. each character was so isolated and so stubborn that only from the perspective of a reader could you see how they were intertwined. some of the broader themes of this novel were revealed only when several backstories were explicated. like for instance, how for a withering pregnant women, her imminent death could not have meant permanence, but for a murderer, permanence was imperative. this was only my second wiesel and it couldn't really compare to night but i mean i didn't expect it to. overall, pretty solid it just could have been more depressing.
October 2, 2018
Novel The Judges sarat dengan pertanyaan filosofis atas makna hidup dan penolakan atas totalitariansime. Dalam dialog para tokohnya, novel ini mengajak para pembaca untuk menelaah sejumlah sejumlah pertanyaan retoris dari perspektif eksistensial: siapakah kita, apa arti hidup yang dijalani, apakah itu kebahagiaan, apa arti kita di antara orang lain.
Dalam beberapa bagian, novel ini memberikan pendalaman atas makna hidup para tokohnya, di mana dalam langkah tersebut para tokoh mendapatkan jawaban mereka sendiri. Mereka terjebak cuaca buruk di sebuah desa, dan bertemu dengan seorang hakim. Sang hakim menjadikan para penumpang itu sebagai bagian dari sebuah permainan. Aturan permainan disampaikan secara samar-samar sampai dengan akhir. Setiap bab diisi dengan kejutan-kejutan yang berakhir dengan terbunuhnya sang hakim.
Dalam semangat menolak totalitarianisme, Elie Wiesel menampilkan Sang Hakim sebagai tokoh antagonis yang mengatur permainan dengan paksaan. Kemunculan tokoh lainnya, pembantu Sang Hakim, memperkuat pengaruh majikan yang totaliter terhadap kehidupannya. Sikap Sang Hakim yang 'nyeleneh' ini juga berpengaruh terhadap perilaku para penumpang yang memberontak dan menyelami makna kebebasan hidup dengan lakon yang dijalani pada masa lalu. Novel ini sesungguhnya menarik karena kekayaan perspektif para tokohnya, namun sangat lemah dari segi kohesi plot.
Dalam beberapa bagian, novel ini memberikan pendalaman atas makna hidup para tokohnya, di mana dalam langkah tersebut para tokoh mendapatkan jawaban mereka sendiri. Mereka terjebak cuaca buruk di sebuah desa, dan bertemu dengan seorang hakim. Sang hakim menjadikan para penumpang itu sebagai bagian dari sebuah permainan. Aturan permainan disampaikan secara samar-samar sampai dengan akhir. Setiap bab diisi dengan kejutan-kejutan yang berakhir dengan terbunuhnya sang hakim.
Dalam semangat menolak totalitarianisme, Elie Wiesel menampilkan Sang Hakim sebagai tokoh antagonis yang mengatur permainan dengan paksaan. Kemunculan tokoh lainnya, pembantu Sang Hakim, memperkuat pengaruh majikan yang totaliter terhadap kehidupannya. Sikap Sang Hakim yang 'nyeleneh' ini juga berpengaruh terhadap perilaku para penumpang yang memberontak dan menyelami makna kebebasan hidup dengan lakon yang dijalani pada masa lalu. Novel ini sesungguhnya menarik karena kekayaan perspektif para tokohnya, namun sangat lemah dari segi kohesi plot.
October 22, 2020
This is not a fast-paced book, despite what the back cover's blurb suggests. But that is no surprise. Wiesel's novels are not always a straight shot highway. They're often more like a winding forest path. This is why they're both picked up and put down. Some people can't get enough of the philosophy; others find it to be too much allegory and not enough story.
The Judges reminded me a great deal of Wiesel's other novel Hostage. Both their plotlines sound like thrillers but aren't. However, I loved Hostage and this book- not so much. Going into extensive detail on each character's life was tedious. Razziel was the only one who kept my attention. Even still, I found myself feeling frustrated.
I wanted to rate this book higher. I really did. But I put it down about halfway through. I couldn't finish it.
The Judges reminded me a great deal of Wiesel's other novel Hostage. Both their plotlines sound like thrillers but aren't. However, I loved Hostage and this book- not so much. Going into extensive detail on each character's life was tedious. Razziel was the only one who kept my attention. Even still, I found myself feeling frustrated.
I wanted to rate this book higher. I really did. But I put it down about halfway through. I couldn't finish it.
June 24, 2023
7/10
“Life belongs to man, but its meaning is beyond him.”
What a strange little book. Several passengers of a delayed airplane stay the night in the home of a retired judge during a snowstorm, and he passes sentence on them.
“The voice of God is nearer fire then silence.”
“The achievement of the goal does not signify the end of the quest.”
“Then one night, the eyes of the sick woman absorbed the darkness in which she was already drowning.”
'Do you know what a sinner is?'...Without hesitation, she answered, '...A sinner is one who loves evil.'...That's quite a good answer. What pleased me is that she said loves evil, not does evil."
Man I love that, this makes me feel so much better about myself. I am not a sinner because I hate sin, I love Christ, but sometimes sin. 'Why do I do that which I hate' - the fact that I hate it proves that I'm still in Christ. I didn't expect this from Wiesel.
“Life belongs to man, but its meaning is beyond him.”
What a strange little book. Several passengers of a delayed airplane stay the night in the home of a retired judge during a snowstorm, and he passes sentence on them.
“The voice of God is nearer fire then silence.”
“The achievement of the goal does not signify the end of the quest.”
“Then one night, the eyes of the sick woman absorbed the darkness in which she was already drowning.”
'Do you know what a sinner is?'...Without hesitation, she answered, '...A sinner is one who loves evil.'...That's quite a good answer. What pleased me is that she said loves evil, not does evil."
Man I love that, this makes me feel so much better about myself. I am not a sinner because I hate sin, I love Christ, but sometimes sin. 'Why do I do that which I hate' - the fact that I hate it proves that I'm still in Christ. I didn't expect this from Wiesel.
August 9, 2022
This was a quick read but it just wasn't for me. Wiesel has such deep, philosophical thoughts and writes to make you think. This did that but never pulled me in. It had too many religious references, self reflection, philosophical monologues for my liking.
Many reviews comment on not liking any of the characters. My issue was more that most of the characters had backstories that were interesting but never developed. We were only offered a glimpse into them and this was (I assume) done on purpose. Written from a different perspective, with a different goal in mind, this could have been an interesting psychological thriller, but that is not what Wiesel writes. Though I did get Squid Games vibes.
It was a book that has sat on my shelves for years, finally checked off the list, and I will donate to the local little free library.
Many reviews comment on not liking any of the characters. My issue was more that most of the characters had backstories that were interesting but never developed. We were only offered a glimpse into them and this was (I assume) done on purpose. Written from a different perspective, with a different goal in mind, this could have been an interesting psychological thriller, but that is not what Wiesel writes. Though I did get Squid Games vibes.
It was a book that has sat on my shelves for years, finally checked off the list, and I will donate to the local little free library.
May 16, 2017
"A plane en route from New York to Tel Aviv is forced down by bad weather. A nearby house provides refuge for five of its passengers...
Their host—an enigmatic and disquieting man who calls himself simply the Judge—begins to interrogate them, forcing them to face the truth and meaning of their lives. Soon he announces that one of them—the least worthy—will die."
Begins as a mostly captivating story but gets muddled in his intellectual claptrap and the last few chapters are dull, ending with the epitome of the anticlimactic.
Just sad 2☆.
Their host—an enigmatic and disquieting man who calls himself simply the Judge—begins to interrogate them, forcing them to face the truth and meaning of their lives. Soon he announces that one of them—the least worthy—will die."
Begins as a mostly captivating story but gets muddled in his intellectual claptrap and the last few chapters are dull, ending with the epitome of the anticlimactic.
Just sad 2☆.
January 14, 2020
An interesting book as always with Elie Wiesel. About a handful of people who were passengers on a downed airplane. They think that a man is being hospitable, but it turns dangerous. The “Judge” says that before the night is through, one of them will be sacrificed for the others. At some point he tells them that they will be the judges and make a determination of which of them is the most innocent. That is the one who will be sacrificed. Mostly you hear each person’s thoughts about if they should or shouldn’t be the one to give up their life for the others. Very thought-provoking.
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December 28, 2025I had trouble understanding this book because i kept thinking in more practical terms instead of following along with what was really a parable, sort of...I kept thinking how i would just leave. I would not stay and be ordered around. All red flags are up. Get out already. I have been in situations where the best thing to do is get out. I can't imagine those people staying under any circumstances.
But thank you to the commenter who quoted from the book, because there are many instances where wisdom shines through.
But thank you to the commenter who quoted from the book, because there are many instances where wisdom shines through.
May 7, 2018
I struggled with this book at first. I wanted to enjoy it but it had a surreal quality, like it should have been a performance piece. But as it went along I came to see the absurdity of the role of the Judge, and what he in particular represented. In the end I quite enjoyed it and thought it a very apt commentary on the impossibility of humans being inherently evil.
September 22, 2024
Oh man, he's done it to me again. I was hooked immediately - the tension, the suspense, what will happen? Very little, it turns out. Wiesel is excellent with his character studies, but if only the characters would DO something. The novel never fulfills the promise of its set up, but the writing is enjoyable.
April 18, 2024
What a disappointment! I have by enthralled by all of the other Wiesel books. This book had seven characters. Wiesel attempted to tell their stories in 200 pages. All of the characters had backstories. There were flashbacks and no chapter markers. It was so very confusing.
August 15, 2017
This was not Wiesel's best work, however it left me thinking about the characters after I had finished the book. Maybe that was his intent.
March 6, 2019
I took away a commentary on the struggle we all feel is being judged of others... What does that do and for us? What will we question or take for granted? Just left me contemplating.
April 4, 2023
Wow. The concept, the characters, the plot...and then BAM page 206.
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