'Righteous gentile' who saved life of Jewish boy dies at 74

H a a r e t z ^ | 2/27/2006 | Amiram Barkat

[Sabramerican]

'Righteous gentile' who saved life of Jewish boy dies at 74 By Amiram Barkat

Sim Yeryomin, one of the "righteous gentiles" who saved Jews during the Holocaust, died last weekend at his home in Beit She'an.

Yeryomin, the son of farmers from the Kursk region of Russia, was 10 in April 1942 when he came upon Victor Feinstein, 13, who had collapsed as a result of malnutrition. Feinstein had escaped from the Cracow region after his mother and younger sisters were murdered by the Germans. Feinstein survived through the winter, wandering hundreds of kilometers, from village to village, until reaching the Kursk region.

Yeryomin took care of Feinstein for several days on his own, bringing him bread and water, before telling his parents about the Jewish teen. His parents brought Feinstein into their home, bathing and caring for him until he recovered his strength.

Despite knowing that Feinstein was Jewish, the family sheltered him until the area was liberated, in April 1943.

Shortly after Feinstein immigrated to Israel.....he asked Yad Vashem to recognize Yeryomin and his parents as "righteous among the nations."

Yeryomin married a Jewish woman, Zina Shimnovsky, in 1959. In 1996, after he was widowed, he immigrated to Israel with his remaining family.

[class8601_nuke]

Amen, my brother. Amen. I, too, stood at the foot of the cross and mocked my Saviour after driving the nails. Yet it is the freedom He gives me that allows me to say "here there is no Greek or Jew ..."

[Melas]

That's actually a very beautiful story. I'm touched.

[SJackson]

Besides. The correct designation is "Righteous among the Nations". Righteous Gentile is simply shorthand..."The Nations" is the word used from biblical times- by Jews- to describe the rest of the World: Those not Jews...It is the translation to both the words Gentile and the word Goy.

What an unfortunate thread for this to come up on. In general, people opposed the the concept of nations, I dare not utter the Hebrew word, should take it up with the Tanakh's author.

[mombonn]

Luke 10:25-37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed,[j] he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”

37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise

[starbase]

See above. It is easily obvious that anyone having trouble with the term "Gentile" is not coming unbiased to any issue involving Jews.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, and I resent that from both of you. A blanket statement is a highly biased thing to make. Now any issue involving any Jews cannot be addressed by someone who doesn't like the word "Gentile"? If you are talking about our discussion of words and their meanings, then you are presuming way too much with this comment.

Please DO NOT confuse honest Platonic discussion of a range of topics with secret hidden agendas.

Perhaps you're not referring to our discussion, but the ability to analyze terms and associated ideas is critical to the practice of Philosophy.

You sound a bit like a sore loser, because frankly I feel I won my point several times over, and then you make a statement like this because you can't justify a name for a group of excluded people, whether excluded by the Chinese, Thais, Jews, or anyone else, exclusion is exclusion and that was my one and only point in this discussion, as my posts consistently indicate.

Of course if you had made the point earlier that "Gentile" really means "Righteous Among the Nations", then that would have ended our whole debate, as it is a much more flattering term that I wouldn't mind at all. But you didn't make that point earlier.

I have noted from our discussion plus other posts on this thread that this topic is radioactive, and now note the risk of being subtly slimed is present as well.

Next time I discuss such issues I will be very careful that I know who I'm talking with, and that we're both talking about academic pursuits, not what appears to be a very religious debate that is not about words and their meanings.

If you want clarification of anything I have posted just ask, there's no need to speculate on what I believe, I'll tell you straight out if you wish to ask.

[starbase]

A tip off that you have encountered one is animosity toward Jews under cover of Christianity - a trick their international competitors also like to use.

No true conservative or Christian harbors animosity toward Jews - don't be deceived by them. We all share a deep contempt for neo-nazis and their world socialist brethren.

I really, really hope you are not directing this at me. This is an extremely poisonous post you have here. Now I don't want to address it because I'll sound like I'm being too defensive, but if I let it stand then I'm allowing bitter libel to float near me.

I'll leave it at this. If this is directed to my analysis above, and if you have the courage, then address me directly. Otherwise I denounce these words as vicious libel unworthy of Free Republic.

[starbase]

BTW, I just noticed you've only been here for EIGHT DAYS! How can you try to talk like an old hand, talking about what secret hidden Nazis do here and do there and do on FR when you've only been here for eight days?

You should be ashamed of yourself for that post.

[Strzelec]

I have a couple of relatives on that list.

I am amazed and humbled by their actions, especially when I consider that in occupied Poland ANY assistance to Jews carried an automatic death sentence (the only country occupied by the Nazis where this was true).

[saradippity]

It probably would have been better to have labeled those who put their own lives at risk to save the "The Chosen" as "Good Samaritans".

That could have demonstrated an uncommon sensitivity to what motivates others,who are not "The Chosen" to risk their lives and the lives of their families to save another man. This in turn could engender a commitment on the part of many to imitate these brave persons.

[Billthedrill]

Yes, this certainly has devolved into a discussion that is supremely ironic given the subject matter. Wonder what a fellow who risked his life to save a starving Jewish boy would think of this stuff?

"Righteous Gentile" if one can properly use that phrase where it wasn't in the original - "Righteous Gentile" means someone who has behaved with highest honor according to a code to which he or she has not subscribed and hence cannot be held to by God as a subscriber - a Jew - might. That is all that it means. Whether that individual behaves by another code of honor or belief is quite irrelevant.

[the Marshal]

I don't know what planet your starbase is on, but I didn't pop into existance EIGHT DAYS AGO.

Odd how my slamming neo-nazis seems to upset you. Did I hit close to home?

I don't think you quite realize how it looks - your belief that I should be ASHAMED of slamming neo-nazis - could it be you think I am a RACE TRAITOR?

Are you an Identist or any form of neo-nazi?

[the Marshal]

After reading post 66 I think starbase needs professional help.

Let me fill you in a fact of life - "starbase" is an anonymous nickname, and you can no more libel an anonymous person than you can libel Donald Duck.

You're making a fool of yourself - go away.

[the Marshal]

After reading post 65 let me admend my previous.

Starbase, you are NUTS.

[SauronOfMordor]

I have problems with the concept of "righteous Gentile." Am I the only one?

The implication that a Gentile can only be "righteous" by saving a Jew is perhaps unfortunate

[the Marshal]

I can't believe this.

Here someone posts a story of courage and nobility, and in fact offers it as a message of thanks on behalf of Jews.

Then kooks pop up and start finding something to be offended about by it.

I am not surprised by the post - everytime I have been a guest in a Jewish home my hosts have been the acme of hospitality; yet with some of the comments the post aroused I can see why Jews who don't know me might be wary of me as a gentile.

I encountered one particularly obnoxious fellow on an another board who informed me that there is no such thing as Arab antisemitism, because Arabs are semites too. What I have seen here proves Arabs haven't cornered the idiot market yet.

Sabramerican, thank you for an uplifting post, and for acknowledging thanks, even though what that brave boy did is what any decent human being - be it gentile or neanderthal - should have done.

Starbase, I will consider any posts you address to me in future as harrassment. Don't post to me again.

[Sabramerican]

I thought it was a nice story which came full circle when the righteous young boy found his final home in the Nation of the people he saved.

The tangent was a very absurd detour.