Wrestling with God: Jewish Theological Responses during and after the Holocaust

702 Pages·2007·3.6 MB·English

by  Steven T. Katz

Wrestling with God
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Wrestling with God
Jewish Theological Responses during
and after the Holocaust
General Editor
Steven T. Katz
Associate Editors
Shlomo Biderman
Gershon Greenberg
1
2007
1
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
WrestlingwithGod:JewishtheologicalresponsesduringandaftertheHolocaust/
generaleditor,StevenT.Katz;associateeditors,ShlomoBiderman,
GershonGreenberg.
p.cm.
IncludessomearticlestranslatedfromFrench,Hebrew,andYiddish.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13978-0-19-530014-7;978-0-19-530015-4(pbk.)
ISBN0-19-530014-9;0-19-530015-7(pbk.)
1. Holocaust(Jewishtheology) I. Katz,StevenT.,1944–
II. Biderman,Shlomo. III. Greenberg,Gershon.
BM645.H6W74 2006
296.3'1174—dc22 2006000070
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Credits
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Contents
General Introduction by Steven T. Katz 3
Part I
Ultra-Orthodox Responses during and following the War
Introduction by Gershon Greenberg 11
Within the Catastrophe 27
Elhanan Wasserman 29
_
Tractate: The Onsetof theMessiah 30
Kalonymous Kalman Shapira 39
Holy Fire 40
Shlomoh Zalman Unsdorfer 51
Vayehi:Eve of theHolyShabbat of theTorah PortionVayehi[Genesis 47:28–50:26]
_ _
[Prepared 2January for3January 1942Delivery] 52
Torah Portion Va’era [Exodus6:1–9:35]
[Prepared 8January for9January 1943Delivery] 56
[Torah Portion]Re’eh [Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17]
[Prepared 27 Augustfor 28August 1943Delivery] 58
Shlomoh Zalman Ehrenreich 61
What I PreachedonSunday [of theWeekof] theTorah Portion Tetsaveh,26 February1939 62
What I Preachedon[the Festival of]SimhatTorah,4October 1942 65
_
What I Preachedonthe GreatShabbat[Preceding Passover], 17April 1943 68
At the Border of Catastrophe 73
Yissakhar Taykhtahl 75
Second Preface: A HappyMother of Children 75
Aharon Rokeah 83
_
Parting Sermon 84
The Land of Israel 93
Reuven Katz 95
Redemption andRescue of Prisoners, December 1943 96
‘‘The JewsOrdained, andTook Itupon Them’’ [Esther 9:27], May–June 1944 99
Amalek’s Transmigration over theGenerations, February–March 1945 101