THE HOLOCAUST IS OVER WE MUST RISE FROM ITS ASHES

WHERE WAS GOD DURING THE SHOAH? THIS IS THE MOST frequentquestion in discussing the century of Hitler, Cain’s century. Atheists will say, “A godthat allows one and a quarter million children to die like vermin cannot exist,” or “Ifhe does exist, he must not be worshipped.” Zvi Yanai argues in his wonderful memoirYours Sandro, “If God is involved in the world, he should be prosecuted at theInternational Criminal Court in the Hague for crimes against humanity. If he is silent asa wall, I prefer to pray to the wall.” 1 On the other hand, believers will point to the“Holocaust miracle.” Fact: Half a century after the crematoria, the Jewish people areas strong as ever. Fact: I was saved. Observant Jews have become much morereligious because of the Shoah and its consequences. Secular Jews have becomeeven more alienated from God, and they put more trust in our own power andaggressive tactics. Zionist Jews have dug in deeper in the Land of Israel as theultimate fortified refuge.Jewish residents throughout the world live by Jacob’s wisdom, expressed by hisfinesse in dealing with sensitive situations, as before his potentially dangerous meetingwith Esau. “He said if Esau comes to the first camp and strikes it, the remaining campwill survive.” 2 An assimilated Jew who marries a partner outside the faith triessometimes to escape into a new reality where he is unknown as a Jew, thereforereducing the risk that he will be persecuted and eliminated like his predecessors.