The Denver Jewish news., 1923-03-07
Bojer' shovel, The Great
Hunger
BY Rabbi Leon Harrison, Temple
Israel, st. Louis.

taught by example. One superb in
stance of courage can turn an army
into heroes Grent fiction also reveals
ethical principles in action: and thus
appeals not simply to our reason. b"t
to our emotions, awakening sympa-
thetically the latent moral forces OF our
being And this is profoundly true oi
the novel that ] would discuss tonight
-Bojer's 1.-The Great Hunger" 1t is
n simple. convincing picture of the
struggles of a human being to lift him
self from misery, poverty and ignorance
to knowledge. power and happiness.
But above all. it is the record OF the
struggles of n human soul to satisfy
its spiritual hunger: to find not only
truth. but peace.
The story falls naturally into five
acts. each in its own scene and set
ting.
The first is in country village, on
n Norwegian ford. The hero. Peer,
is of mysterious origin. His father Is
not anxious to acknowledge him. He
is brought up in fisherman's home.
The sudden death of his father pre-
cipitates crisis. He labors hard in
smithy, while preparing for tech
nical college. With the slight provi-
sion that has been made for him he
gains an education. and shares, mean
while his scanty crust with his half
sister, soon to be taken from him by
sickness and death
His religious faith is shattered by
this pitiful little tragedy. He labors
hard in college, not only for knowledge.
but to understand the deeper truths of
life He tolls on. meeting in the school
his legitimate brother. Ferdinand
Holm, who was strangely drawn to
him. After an extra year In study,
he accepts Ferdinand's invitation to
Egypt. there to begin his great cnreer.
In Egypt he built railroads he con-
structed dams; he helped to irrigate
the desert. And yet science did not
satisfy his deepest self. Science speed
ed progress hut progress to what!
He felt as If machinery We're killing
the gOdlike in man. The spirit in him
was still restless; the hunger of his
soul was far from satisfied.
After great achievements he is back
in the mountains of Norway. Love
comes into his life. and takes COM
lplete possession of him. He marries
I'll lav-
one. into his palatial home. All the
worldly blessings that he had yearned
for are his. And yet there strangely
persisted in him his sense of exile, of
religious hOmelessness.
He is drawn TO n vast new engineer
ing venture. And now misfortune be-
gins to play tricks with him. Acct
dents happen. His half brother fails,
ruins. His new agricultural invention
is defective. His estate is sold; his
health collapses. lin n lonely farm
house. eating the bitter bread of de-
that is left of Peer, once the strong
successful master of men and money.
He begins agnin. however in the
humblest way. He is back once more
in a village smithy. Yet he eats the
sweet bread of independence now. He
must sacrifice one child-and then an
Other-to their aunt. for their educa-
1; ,I f,,f, n m N o
little girl is slain by the brutal dog
of still more brutal neighbOr. Every
/ light in his life seems to be extin-
guished And now a drought comes up
on the land, and famine. But little
seed remains in his possession but he
rises in the middle of the night. and
with those few remaining handfuls that
still are his he sows his enemy's field.
!. Not for Christ's sake" he says, nor
for Christ's sake" he says, nor be-
cause I love my enemy. but because
amid the ruins of my life | feel Il
vast responsibility. Man must rise
above the blind powers that order his
L WAYS Man must create the Divine in
heaven and on earth. Therefore l went
out and sowed the corn in my enemys
| field that God might exist"
And thus he satisfied his great hun
ger-the longing of his soul.
That hunger was a longing always
for something that he had not: for
something that would satisfy the total
ity of his being, all the depths of his
nature. And there ia Ia wonderful
ment of the problem in the recital of
the steps by which Peer realized the
emptiness of achievement and attain