StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Etty Hillesum - Book Report/Review Example

Cite this document
Summary
But instead of letting these hardships stop her from achieving spiritual awakening, she used these struggles to help her understand the transcendent domain. Her dedication to learn that which was greatly…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97% of users find it useful
Etty Hillesum
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Etty Hillesum"

Etty Hillesum: Living a Transcendental Life Etty Hillesum, in a young age, had experienced the horrors of World War II. But instead of letting these hardships stop her from achieving spiritual awakening, she used these struggles to help her understand the transcendent domain. Her dedication to learn that which was greatly profound within her and to confront the terrifying wickedness around her was encouraged by a yearning which transcends her own self. Fighting back hindrances, problems, and distractions, she finally understood that what was resting at the deepest recesses of her ‘self’ was strongly connected to a spiritual realm.

Hence, she believed that the reason for her being genuinely at peace is strongly linked to God (Hillesum 1985, 44):There is a really deep well inside me. And in it dwells God. Sometimes I am there too. But more often stones and grit block the well, and God is buried beneath. Then He must be dug out again. The challenges she faced in Amsterdam, and later on in Auschwitz, greatly transformed her because of her response to such challenges: she tried to discover the meaning of life. She did not try to escape, as she determinedly looked for purity, understanding, certainty, and the genuinely human life against the unkindness and cruelty that surrounded her and her loved ones.

While trying to find the meaning of life, she gained a spiritual awareness that surfaced, not from religious conventions or dogmas, but from a feeling of peacefulness within her. Through this she understood the meaning of life and realized that the miseries of the Jewish people could also be spiritually meaningful. She then began to integrate her spiritual realizations into actual practices and into her life. She meditated every morning for 30 minutes before going to work. Half an hour of physical work out was one of her everyday routines; hence by integrating this routine with spiritual practice she expected to be successful in reuniting the body and the spirit (Penzenstadler 1996, 108).

The objective of her meditation was to uncover her deepest self, “with none of that treacherous undergrowth to impede the view. So that something of ‘God’ can enter… and something of ‘Love’ too” (Hillesum 1985, 27). She was zealous about experiencing the truth with a pure understanding without fear, worry, and trivial desires. Etty Hillesum’s life grew deeper, meaningful, and peaceful because of her faith and her thoughtfulness to the spring of her love. She continued understanding that “there is no causal connection between people’s behavior and the love you feel for them… The fellow man himself [sic] has hardly anything to do with it” (Maas 2004, 126).

Everything that Etty Hillesum had experienced in her lifetime is also experienced by people of today: the war, violence, cruelty, indifference, racial discrimination, and misery. We can learn a lot from her ways, especially from how she perceived the evil things around her. She did not differentiate between ‘friend’ and ‘enemy’, and instead of seeing the Nazis as ‘wicked’ people she tried to question herself and understand her own wickedness. The world will be a better place if all of us will embrace these same principles.

It would be much suitable for all of us to follow her spiritual practices, especially the meditations before doing any strenuous activities in order for us to have the spiritual strength to face all the challenges that will come our way. Works CitedHillesum, Etty. An interrupted life: the diaries of Etty Hillesum, 1941-1943. Washington, DC: Washington Square Press, 1985. Print.Maas, Frans. Spirituality as Insight: Mystical Texts and Theological Reflections. Netherlands: Peeters Publishers, 2004. Print. Penzenstadler, Joan.

“Attentive to Transcendence: The Life of Etty Hillesum.” Magistra 2.1 (1996): 106+. Print.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Etty Hillesum Book Report/Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/religion-and-theology/1600329-etty-hillesum
(Etty Hillesum Book Report/Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
https://studentshare.org/religion-and-theology/1600329-etty-hillesum.
“Etty Hillesum Book Report/Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/religion-and-theology/1600329-etty-hillesum.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Etty Hillesum

The Netherlands Set the Groundwork for the Third Reich

(Vanderwerff 2010)The atmosphere as explained by Etty Hillesum, in her Letters of Westerbork, was that she had no desire for organised religion.... hillesum 1999) There was a sense of safty of being Dutch before being Jewish.... Westerbork: A camp different from others Thesis: A country, thought to have been tolerant to all religions, had perfectly set the ground work for the Third Reich to come in and freely annalitate 70% of one population group....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

The Theory of Planned Behaviour

Business Research Methods I.... Literature Review The Theory of Planned Behaviour First proposed by Icek Ajzen in 1985, this theory is in turn based on the earlier Theory of Reasoned Action posited by both Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) in the course of their studies on attitude and behaviour.... hellip; As such, both theories work quite well to explain behavioural intent, as well as to predict both human behaviour and attitude (Ajzen 1980)....
15 Pages (3750 words) Essay

Visiting the city

Visiting the City I am at Fire Island National Seashore, preparing to view Betty Beaumont's creation “Ocean Landmark”, which she created in 1980 using 500 tons of processed coal-waste and laid on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean's continental shelf as an artistic sculpture (Art & Technology Collaboration)....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Addiction Paper - Betty Ford

This report discusses the story of a famous woman, Betty Ford, who struggled with drug addiction.... Her journey from addiction to treatment has been described.... First of all, an introduction has been given about Betty Ford.... … Addiction Paper - Betty Ford Abstract This report discusses the story of a famous woman, Betty Ford, who struggled with drug addiction....
5 Pages (1250 words) Book Report/Review

Betty Woodman Work of Art

She became enthralled with ceramics in high school when a piece of clay became a ceramic glaze after it was fired in a kiln.... She studied ceramics in university and she came to Italy the first time on a Fulbright scholarship during… Italy in its "more Baroque aspects seems to have provided the basic impetus for her work ever since, no matter how far-flung her inspirations....
2 Pages (500 words) Research Paper

Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique

It is indeed important to note the fact that the book, The Feminine Mystique, written by Betty Friedan, happens to be a work of immense historical relevance.... It is but natural for the historical movements to gradually give in to a sense of status quo, in the absence of the… In that context, the Women's Liberation Movement in the post II World War America had eventually stifled to a state of complacence and compromise....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

The Prominent Etta James

Etta James is regarded as one of the greatest artists who used music to pass important messages to the community.... Etta James is often referred to one among the “most dynamic singers,” as her music ranges from blues, rock and roll, gospel to R&B and soul etc.... hellip; Her music has always remained relevant and entertaining, thus paving way for her receiving several Grammy nominations as well as awards....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Religion & Holocaust

There are different explanations of the Holocaust but not like Etty Hillesum.... Ester hillesum was born in the Netherlands on January 15, 1914.... Perhaps, etty considered that fear also took spirituality away from most.... etty met him in 1941 at a conference and then in therapy.... etty became his good friend and secretary....
5 Pages (1250 words) Article
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us