What to read after Cruising the World’s Oceans?

My 14 days aboard the Noordam, a Holland America ship, was an exceptional voyaging experience. My invitation to join the voyage was at the invitation of the cruise line, whose request was because they wanted a Rabbi aboard the vessel. I soon learned that a large Jewish community was aboard. Families with young children were aboard because this was the winter holiday season. Older persons were aboard because they enjoyed cruising and the end-of-year opportunity afforded them the ability to be on the high seas during the holiday season. It was also the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, a time of rededication by kindling the lights and recalling the ancient miracle of the lights in the Jerusalem Temple. Of nearly 1,900 passengers, about 65 were Jewish and we enjoyed a wonderful cruise opportunity in the summer warmth of the South Pacific.

The cruise began in Sydney Australia, cruising through the South Pacific to New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Fiji. We visited ports at Nouméa, New Caledonia; Port Vila, Mystery Island and Luganville, Vanuatu. We then visited Fijian ports at Suva, Lautoka, and Dravuni Island.

A high point of my time aboard this ship was meeting Gedaliah Oshlaske, a holocaust survivor. His incredible story of survival during World War Two is told here for the first time. Although he was asked by many people, including Steven Spielberg, to relate his personal account of that harrowing time, he refused to do so. During this cruise, for the first time, he shared a few of the details of his survival. I was both privileged and honored that he chose me to share the story.

The story, however, is in its barest outline. What he shared was but in outline form, with much of the story yet to be shared. I hope the rest of the story will be shared so it may become part of the ongoing saga of this man's legacy of survival when the world was shrouded in much darkness. The time was engulfed in what Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, described as the kingdom of fire. I humbly offer this survivor's story to the reader fully aware that so much of the story is not yet told.