By Yanki Tauber
 | Is G-d responsible? How can His actions (or inaction) be defended? Should they be defended?
21 Comments Posted
What an excellent article, i have always wondered about what the Rebbe felt about the holocaust and now can understand it myself much better, thanks for all your articles they are so inspiring keep up the good work, may we merit to see Moshiach now.
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Theologians often attempt to explain theodicy questions (a term referring to a theoretical justification of the goodness of G-d in the face of evil in the world) by portraying evil as something which comes about as a result of sin. Rabbinic figures have made similar declarations in an attempt to explain the atrocities of the Holocaust.
In defense of the Righteous who perished in the Holocaust, the Rebbe scathingly responded to such assertions by pointing out this argument's many flaws:
1. Most Jews can't be held accountable for sins given their Halchaic legal status of someone who is uninformed (i.e, "tinuk shenishbah")
2. Judgment of reward and punishment is based on the quality of mtizvot not quantity (only G-d can determine thisnot man)
3. It is also incorrect to assume that all punishment is a result of sin. In the Torah, Moses contests G-d regarding the 400y exile in Egypt which came about for NO particular sin.
Thank you Chabad.org for further illuminating this subject!
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Thank you for explaining this. many people I know are holocaust survivors and I do not know what to answer when they ask me these kinds of questions.
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Finally the rebbe's view brought out in a "short but to the point" manner - for everyones benefit
Thank you very much - we really appreciate it. Keep up the good work, we all support you
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A sane and normal person cannot fathom out the Holocaust and the Rebbe is quite right in pointing this out. You can write 6 million pages of testimony on this subject but they will be naught when compared to the horrors of actually seeing two small Jewish children stood hand in hand waiting to be shot, then being shot. You can easily visualise the guns being fired, you can imagine the last farewell messages and even guess what was said, and you can easily imagine the farewell hand holding that must have took place in the gas-chambers. What you cannot imagine is that it would ever have happened.
So in some respects your imagination binds you to your own private Remembrance of the Holocaust, with this act of Remembrance being your declaration to the world that you yourself, hold hands even today with the victims, and let it be said, you don't have to be Jewish to do so.
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To answer this question you must accept that the Jewish community is a circle or group of like minded people, all sharing similar aims and values, and within this circle G-D resides. His Spirit and safety is central to the beliefs of these people. With some deception and cunning this group of fairly ordinary and peaceful people are attacked by armed men, by sinful men intent on ruining their few joys and hard earned lifestyles, which include by tradition the right to practise their religion as they so choose and to speak freely with others. Etc.
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It matters a great deal to this groups continuation of faith and principles that they are not the attackers and they do no harm to others [not even to those who attack them] and that they stand United. The moment just one of these 3 acts of spiritual defiance occurs "then G-d appears". You see he was always there - it just needed a period of great hardship or war, for ordinary men and women to see the Faith in the Lord in action.
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This was very interesting. and it is very sad! i am jewish too and hitler is cruel!
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why does hashem allow evil to occur.It is the biggest question mankind asks.Why is there mans inhumanity to man.Maybe without evil in the world we would not know hashems goodness.
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"in the editor's note it says "on one occasion the Rebbe devoted a significant part of a 10th Teves address to speak about the Holocaust..." it would be nice to know which year so we can look it up. Thanks
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God permitted human action to run its course a course which, as the Rebbe pointed out, was the result of a non-Divinely-based authority.
The holocaust is horrible, no doubt, but so is the state of Jewishness in places like the US where non-orthodox synogogues seem more and more like churches, where Jews have not been taught from childhood how to pray and how to revere the Torah. Bar-mitzvahs become raucous parties whose focus is what color kippot to order and what lettering should be on the invitations. There is little serious discussion about the meaning of mitzvot and what does it mean to arrive at the age when a boy is able to make a commitment to them.
All these tragedies, be they mass murder or assiimilation, are stuff that prompts us to demand Moshiach. But, we must earn him.
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The Holocaust in my opinion proves only mans inhumanity to itself.Just like the German People, we, look to blame someone else, for our own attitude in, turning a blind eye, passing the buck, waiting for someone else to save us, when its within ourselves to see & do what is right, when mankind is blind to see ,we still need to show our light so they will see & recieve a little spark also. We should be strengthened by the wickedness of this world & resolved to bring everyman a small spark of light bringing all of humanity a little closer to, "Hashem" . bless his name.
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The Rebbe's talk is in Sefer Hasichos 5751, volume 1, page 225
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it seems we were warned about all of the "horrors" that would be perpetrated on us if we turned our back on His ways. And indeed the Germans were very good at forfilling that prophesy. And then also included was the good news...we got our home back! Next year for many ...was in Jerusaleum! Thank G=D
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theres a great story about a gerer rebbe in israel. someone who used to be religious and stopped came to see him. he was so upset about the shoah. the rebbe said to him, i have no words for you, but i can cry with you.
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Whilst no one can ever fully and convincingly provide a reason, in the aftermath we suddenly get Israel back after nearly 2000 years.
Jewish fighters reclaim the promised land, just like in the days of Joshua.
Punishment-redemption-return to Israel.
Ironic?
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yes - B'nei Yisrael are allowed in Israel again - but the Germans took hatred and sorrow to a new level. We must do our utmost to preserve ourselves from the politics of apathy that persist - why isn't the Nazi Socialist Party illegal in America, for instance?
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Quite simply the most poignant thoughts ever communicated on this the saddest and most sensitive of subjects. From destruction the Rebbe dedicated his life, his service of G-d, to renewal and to reaching out to those who are far away. Without a soul the body is empty; some dedicated their lives to building a physical home for the Jewish people, some to bringing the wicked criminals to justice, all are valid and have their place but the Rebbe dedicated his life to building the soul of the Jewish people and in so doing re-ignited its vibrancy and secured its survival, achieving far more than any material response could ever (have hoped to) achieve.
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sometimes evil is alowed to flourish so it can come to light and be destroyed.
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As an Israeli born Jew who lost virtually all his father's family to the Nazis, I think I've inherited the right to speak on Shoa and have an uncommon view.
Jews outside of Israel are always bemoaning the loss of Shoa. I'd like to suggest a different attitude. We Jews are G-d's vanguard, watchmen of His to the world. Since our Holocaust, there have been others. Everyone is fond of using the phrase "man's inhumanity to man" but no one says (e.g.) "Look, abortion there it is." Or "AIDS and we sell instead of give away the cure. There it is." Or "Darfur. Stop being so greedy, stop life as normal and stop the Holocaust of Darfur. It's man's inhumanity to man."
That is what we Jews should be doing. As the ultimate victims, we are uniquely qualified for the task of pointing out to the rest of the world incidents of "man's inhumanity to man."
So long as all we do is bemoan Shoa and ask the world to pity us, I think they secretyly think "The Jewish Problem."
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The one thing I have a problem with is NOT having people try to blame G-d, but the fact that we have lost 5 million people in the telling of the holocaust. There were 11 million murdered by the Nazis - 6 million Jewish people and 5 million non-Jewish people. Why do we eliminate the 5 milllion as though they didn't count? The death camps were, and are, the greatest evil that man has perpetrated en masse!
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