Shmuel Oswald Rufeisen (1922–1998), better known as Brother (or Father) Daniel, O.C.D., was a
Polish-born Jew who survived the Nazi invasion of his homeland, in the course of which he converted to Christianity, becoming a Catholic and a
friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...
of the
Discalced Carmelite Order
The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...
. He sought Israeli citizenship under the Israeli
Law of Return
The Law of Return ( he, חֹוק הַשְׁבוּת, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to relocate to Israel and acquire Isr ...
, but was refused. However, he moved to Israel as a Carmelite friar, where he spent the rest of his life, and acquired citizenship through naturalization.
Life
Rufeisen was born to a
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish family in Zadziele near the Polish town of
Oświęcim
Oświęcim (; german: Auschwitz ; yi, אָשפּיצין, Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland ( pl, Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rive ...
, known in German as Auschwitz. During his youth, he belonged to
Bnei Akiva
Bnei Akiva ( he, בְּנֵי עֲקִיבָא, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established in Mandatory Palestine in 1929.
History
B ...
, a
religious Zionist
Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religious"), and in Israel, the ...
youth movement
The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise.
...
.
In 1941, during the war, he helped to save hundreds of fellow Jews in the
Mir Ghetto (in the city of
Mir, Belarus
Mir ( be, Мір; russian: Мир; ) is a town in the Karelichy District (Карэліцкі раён) of Grodno Region, Belarus on the banks of Miranka River, about 85 kilometers southwest of the national capital, Minsk.
History
Mir village was ...
) from mass execution by infiltrating the local police station as a translator under the assumed identity as an ethnically German Pole.
[https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/communities/mir/rufeisen.asp Their Legacies Remain… We Remember Oswald], Rufeisen page on Yad Vashem website. Accessed 20 October 2020.] Around the same time, he led a resistance group within the Mir Ghetto.
[ While in hiding in a ]convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...
of the Sisters of the Resurrection, he converted to Christianity and took the baptism from the nuns. After the war, he joined the Carmelite Order, became a Discalced Carmelite
The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...
friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...
and eventually a Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
.
Throughout the 1950s, Rufeisen made numerous requests to the Carmelite authorities to transfer him to the order's monastery in Haifa, Jerusalem, and to the Polish government to allow him to move to Israel for permanent residence. These were regularly denied until the late 1950s, when the Polish government finally granted his request on the condition that he give up his Polish citizenship. Rufeisen arrived in Israel in July 1959 and reunited with his brother Aryeh, who had come to then Palestine in 1941. Rufeisen, who was initially given only a one-year residence permit in Israel, rendering him virtually stateless, applied for Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i citizenship under the Law of Return
The Law of Return ( he, חֹוק הַשְׁבוּת, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to relocate to Israel and acquire Isr ...
, which entitles Jews to immigrate to Israel. He maintained that although his religion was Catholicism he was still a Jew:
: "My ethnic origin is and always will be Jewish. I have no other nationality. If I am not a Jew, what am I? I did not accept Christianity to leave my people. I added it to my Judaism. I feel as a Jew."
Different branches of Judaism treat Jews who convert to other religions differently. In Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
and Conservative Judaism converts are still regarded as Jews, but not in Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...
. On religion-related issues, Israel follows the Orthodox interpretation of Jewish law.
The Israeli government denied Rufeisen's request on the grounds that he had converted to Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. Rufeisen appealed the case to the Supreme Court of Israel. His lawyer argued that by denying Rufeisen the right to immigrate Israel would cast itself as a theocracy in which national affiliation is equated with religion. In 1962, the Supreme Court upheld the government's decision: any Jew converting to another religion would forfeit their preferential access to Israeli citizenship (''Rufeisen v. Minister of the Interior, (1962) 16 PD 2428'').. The trial ignited public debate about Jewish identity and the court's decision, according to historian Michael Stanislawski, was a defining moment in the history of the Jewish State, whose influence on Israeli law and public opinion can be felt to this day.
Nevertheless, Rufeisen went on to serve as a Carmelite friar at Stella Maris Carmelite Monastery in Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
, Israel, where he spent the rest of his life, and acquired Israeli citizenship through naturalization.
In literature
The novel ''Daniel Stein, Interpreter'' by renowned Russian writer Lyudmila Ulitskaya
Lyudmila Evgenyevna Ulitskaya (russian: link=no, Людмила Евгеньевна Улицкая, born February 21, 1943) is an internationally acclaimed modern Russian novelist and short-story writer who, in 2014, was awarded the prestigious A ...
was inspired by the life of Oswald Rufeisen.Interview at 'MAN Booker International Prize', NDR Kultur, 26 May 2009
"The Russian author Ulitzkaja speaking about her newest book described 'Daniel Stein' as a literature character but at the same time as an historical one: <>"
References
* Cholawski, Shalom, Oswald Rufajzen in ''
Encyclopaedia of the Holocaust
The ''Encyclopedia of the Holocaust'' (1990) has been called "the most recognized reference book on the Holocaust". It was published in an English-language translated edition by Macmillan in tandem with the Hebrew language original edition pu ...
'' vol. 3, p. 1311.
*
Notes
External links
Biography of Brother Daniel on the site of the Hebrew Speaking Catholics in Israel*
Aharon Lichtenstein
Aharon Lichtenstein (May 23, 1933 – April 20, 2015) was a noted Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva. He was an authority in Jewish law (''Halakha'').
Biography
Aharon Lichtenstein was born to Rabbi Dr. Yechiel Lichtenstein and Bluma née Schwartz ...
br>
Brother Daniel and the Jewish Fraternity catholic.co.iltezeusz.pl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rufeisen, Oswald
1922 births
1998 deaths
People from Oświęcim County
Israeli nationality law
20th-century Polish Jews
Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism
Israeli Roman Catholics
Discalced Carmelites
20th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests
Burials in Israel