over there, behind the black gates of auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the muselmannen, as…

over there, behind the black gates of auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the muselmannen, as they were called. wrapped in their torn blankets, they would sit or lie on the ground, staring vacantly into space, unaware of who or where they were-strangers to their surroundings. they no longer felt pain, hunger, thirst. they feared nothing. they felt nothing. they were dead and did not know it.\nrooted in our tradition, some of us felt that to be abandoned by humanity then was not the ultimate. we felt that to be abandoned by god was worse than to be punished by him. better an unjust god than an indifferent one. for us to be ignored by god was a harsher punishment than to be a victim of his anger. man can live far from god-not outside god. god is wherever we are. even in suffering? even in suffering.\n4. what did the jewish people feel was worse than being abandoned by god?\n\nin a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. anger can at times be creative. one writes a great poem, a great symphony. one does something special for the sake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. but indifference is never creative. even hatred at times may elicit a response. you fight it. you denounce it. you disarm it.\n5. why is indifference worse than anger or hatred?

over there, behind the black gates of auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the muselmannen, as they were called. wrapped in their torn blankets, they would sit or lie on the ground, staring vacantly into space, unaware of who or where they were-strangers to their surroundings. they no longer felt pain, hunger, thirst. they feared nothing. they felt nothing. they were dead and did not know it.\nrooted in our tradition, some of us felt that to be abandoned by humanity then was not the ultimate. we felt that to be abandoned by god was worse than to be punished by him. better an unjust god than an indifferent one. for us to be ignored by god was a harsher punishment than to be a victim of his anger. man can live far from god-not outside god. god is wherever we are. even in suffering? even in suffering.\n4. what did the jewish people feel was worse than being abandoned by god?\n\nin a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. anger can at times be creative. one writes a great poem, a great symphony. one does something special for the sake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. but indifference is never creative. even hatred at times may elicit a response. you fight it. you denounce it. you disarm it.\n5. why is indifference worse than anger or hatred?

Answer

Brief Explanations:

For question 4, the text states "We felt that to be abandoned by God was worse than to be punished by Him". For question 5, it says "Indifference...is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Anger can at times be creative...But indifference is never creative".

Answer:

  1. Being punished by God.
  2. Because anger can be creative (e.g., writing a great poem) and hatred may elicit a response (fighting, denouncing, disarming), but indifference is never creative.