Holocaust theology refers to a body of theology and philosophy debate, soul-searching, and analysis, with the subsequent related literature, that attempts to come to grips with various conflicting views about the role of God in this human world and the dark events of the Europe the Holocaust that occurred during World War II (1939-1945) when around 11 million people, including six million Jews were subjected to genocide by the Nazis and their cohorts. Judaism and Christianity traditionally have taught that God is Omnipotence (all powerful), Omniscience (all knowing) and omnibenevolence (all good). Yet, these claims are in jarring contrast with the fact that there is much evil in the world. Perhaps the most difficult question that monotheists have confronted is how can we reconcile the existence of this view of God with the existence of evil? This is the problem of evil. Within all the monotheistic faiths many answers (theodicy) have been proposed. However, in light of the magnitude of evil seen in the Holocaust, many people have re-examined classical views on this subject. How can people still have any kind of faith after the Holocaust? ==Jewish theological responses== Here are some of the major responses that Jews have had in response to the Holocaust: * No new response is needed. The Holocaust is like all other horrific tragedies. This event merely prompts us again to investigate the issue of why bad things sometimes happen to good people. The Holocaust shouldn't change our theology. * Rabbinic Judaism has a doctrine from the Tanakh called ''mi-penei hataeinu'', "because of our sins we were punished". During Biblical times when calamities befell the Jewish people, the Jewish prophets stressed that suffering is a natural result of not following God's law, and prosperity, peace and health are the natural results of following God's law. Therefore, some people in the Orthodox Judaism community have taught that the Jewish people in Europe were deeply sinful. In this view, the Holocaust is a just retribution from God. * The Holocaust is an instance of the temporary "Eclipse of God". There are times when God is inexplicably absent from history. * If there were a God, He would surely have prevented the Holocaust. Since God did not prevent it, then God never really existed in the first place. * "God is dead". If there were a God, He would surely have prevented the Holocaust. Since God did not prevent it, then God has for some reason turned away from the world, and left us to ourselves forever more. God is therefore no longer relevant to humanity. * Terrible events such as the Holocaust are the price we have to pay for having free will. In this view, God will not and cannot interfere with history, otherwise our free will would effectively cease to exist. The Holocaust only reflects poorly on humanity, not God. * Perhaps the Holocaust is in some way a revelation from God: The event issues a call for Jewish affirmation for survival. * The Holocaust is a mystery beyond our comprehension. It may have a meaning or a purpose, but if so this meaning transcends human understanding. * The Jewish people become in fact the "suffering servant" of Isaiah. The Jewish people collectively suffer for the sins of the world. (Also mentioned by Reform Rabbi Ignaz Maybaum proposed that the Holocaust is the ultimate form of vicarious atonement.''The Face of God After Auschwitz'', pages 35 and 36.) * God does exist, but God is not Omnipotence. All of the above arguments are based on the assumption that God is omnipotent, and could have interfered to stop the Holocaust. What if this is not so? In this view, the Holocaust thus only reflects poorly on humanity, not God. This is a view promoted by many liberal theologians, including Rabbi Harold Kushner. ===Orthodox and Haredi Jewish responses=== Many within Haredi Judaism blame the Holocaust on the abandonment of many European Jews of traditional Judaism, and their embrace of other ideologies such as Socialism, Zionism, or various non-Orthodox Jewish movements. Others suggest that God sent the Nazis to kill the Jews because Orthodox European Jews did not do enough to fight these trends, or did not support Zionism. In this Haredi theodicy, the Jews of Europe were sinners who deserved to die, and the actions of God which allowed this were righteous and just. * Satmar (Hasidic dynasty) leader Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum writes: :''Because of our sinfulness we have suffered greatly, suffering as bitter as wormwood, worse than any Israel has know since it became a people...In former times, whenever troubles befell Jacob, the matter was pondered and reasons sought--which sin had brought the troubles about--so that we could make amends and return to the Lord, may He be blessed...But in our generation one need not look far for the sin responsible for our calamity...The heretics have made all kinds of efforts to violate these oaths, to go up by force and to seize sovereignty and freedom by themselves, before the appointed time...[They] have lured the majority of the Jewish people into awful heresy, the like of which as not been seen since the world was created...And so it is no wonder that the Lord has lashed out in anger...And there were also righteous people who perished because of the iniquity of the sinners and corrupters, so great was the [divine] wrath.'' [Aviezer Ravitzky, Messianism, Zionism and Jewish Religious Radicalism (1996 by The University of Chicago), p. 124.] * There were redemptionist Zionism, at the other end of the spectrum, who also saw the Holocaust as a collective punishment for a collective sin: ongoing Jewish unfaithfulness to the Land of Israel. Rabbi Mordecai Atiyah was a leading advocate of this idea. Rabbi Zvi Yehudah Kook and his disciples, for their part, avoided this harsh position, but they too theologically related the Holocaust to the Jewish recognition of Zion. Kook writes "When the end comes and Israel fails to recognize it, there comes a cruel divine operation that removes [the Jewish people] from its exile. [Aviezer Ravitzky, ibid.] * Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky, in 1939, stated that the Nazi persecution of the Jews was the fault of non-Orthodox Jews (Achiezer, volume III, Vilna 1939, in the introduction. This is discussed in "Piety & Power: The World of Jewish Fundamentalism" by Orthodox author David Landau (1993, Hill & Wang). * Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler had similar views, also discussed in Landau's book. * A few Haredi rabbis today warn that a failure to follow Orthodox interpretations of halakha will cause God to send another Holocaust. Rabbi Eliezer Man Schach, a leader of the Lithuanian Jews yeshiva Orthodoxy in Israel until his death in 2002 made this claim on the eve of the 1991 Gulf War. He stated that there would be a new Holocaust in punishment for the abandonment of religion and "desecration" of Shabbat in Israel. ===Modern Orthodox Jewish views=== Most Modern Orthodox Judaism Jews reject the idea that the Holocaust was God's fault. Modern Orthodox rabbis such as Joseph Soloveitchik, Norman Lamm, Abraham Besdin, Emanuel Rackman, Eliezer Berkovits and others have written on this issue; many of their works have been collected in a volume published by the Rabbinical Council of America: ''Theological and Halakhic Reflections on the Holocaust'' (edited by Bernhard H. Rosenberg and Fred Heuman, Ktav/RCA, 1992). ==Works of important Jewish theologians== === Michael Berenbaum === (To be written.) ===Richard Rubinstein=== Prof. Richard Rubenstein's original piece on this issue, "After Auschwitz", held that the only intellectually honest response to the Holocaust is the rejection of God, and the recognition that all existence is ultimately meaninglessness. There is no divine plan or purpose, no God that reveals His will to mankind, and God does not care about the world. Man must assert and create his own value in life. This view has been rejected by Jews of all religious denominations, but his works were widely read in the Jewish community in the 1970s. Since that time Rubinstein has begun to move away from this view; his later works affirm of form of deism in which one may believe that God may exist as the basis for reality. His later works include Kabbalah notions of then nature of God. ===Emil Fackenheim=== Emil Fackenheim is known for his understanding that people must look carefully at the Holocaust, and to find within it a new Revelation. For Fackenheim, the Holocaust was an "epoch-making event". In contrast to Richard Rubenstein's most well-known views, Fackenheim holds that people must still affirm their belief in God and God's continued role in the world. Fackenheim holds that the Holocaust reveals unto us a new Biblical commandment, "We are forbidden to hand Hitler posthumous victories". ===Ignaz Maybaum=== In a rare view that has not been adopted by any element of the Jewish or Christian community (that I know of), Ignaz Maybaum has proposed that the Holocaust is the ultimate form of vicarious atonement. The Jewish people become in fact the "suffering servant" of Isaiah. The Jewish people suffer for the sins of the world. In his view "In Auschwitz Jews suffered vicarious atonement for the sins of mankind." ===Eliezer Berkovits=== Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits (1908-1992) holds that man's free will depends on God's decision to remain hidden. If God were to reveal himself in history and hold back the hand of tyrants, man's free will would be rendered non-existent. Many of Berkovits' books will be republished by the Eliezer Berkovits Institute for Jewish Thought under the auspices of the Shalem Center, Jerusalem. ===Harold Kushner, Williams Kaufman and Milton Steiberg=== Rabbis Harold Kushner, William E. Kaufman, Milton Steinberg believe that God is not Omnipotence, and thus is not to blame for mankind's abuse of free will. Thus, there is no contradiction between the existence of a good God and the existence of massive evil by part of mankind. It is calimed that this is also the view expressed by some classical Jewish authorities, such as Abraham ibn Daud, Abraham ibn Ezra, and Gersonides. ===David Weiss Halivni=== Rabbi David Weiss Halivni is himself a Holocaust-survivor from Hungary. (Rest to be written) ===Irving Greenberg=== Rabbi Irving Greenberg is a Modern Orthodox rabbi who has written extensively on how the Holocaust should affect Jewish theology. Greenberg has an Orthodox understanding of God. Like many other Orthodox Jews, he does not believe that God forces people to follow Jewish law; rather he believes that Jewish law is God's will for the Jewish people, and that Jews ''should'' follow Jewish law as normative. Greenberg's break with Orthodox theology comes with his analysis of the implications of the Holocaust. He writes that the worst thing that God could do to the Jewish people for failing to follow the law is Holocaust-level devastation, yet this has already occurred. Greenberg is not claiming that God ''did'' use the Holocaust to punish Jews; he is just saying that if God chose to do so, that would be the worst possible thing. There really isn't much worse that one could do. Therefore, since God can't punish us any worse than what actually has happened, and since God doesn't force Jews to follow Jewish law, then we can't claim that these laws are enforceable on us. Therefore he argues that the covenant between God and the Jewish people is effectively broken and unenforceable. Greenberg notes that there have been several terrible destructions of the Jewish community, each with the effect of distancing the Jewish people further from God. According to rabbinic literature, after the destruction of the first Temple in Jerusalem and the mass-killing of Jerusalem's Jews, the Jews received no more direct prophecy. After the destruction of the second Temple in Jerusalem and the mass-killing of Jerusalem's Jews, the Jews no longer could present sacrifices at the Temple. This way of reaching God was at an end. After the Holocaust, Greenberg concludes that God isn't responding to the prayers of Jews anymore. Thus, God has unilaterally broken his covenant with the Jewish people. In this view, God no longer has the moral authority to command people to follow his will. Greenberg does not conclude that Jews and God should part way; rather he holds that we should heal the covenant between Jews and God, and that the Jewish people should accept Jewish law on a voluntary basis. His views on this subject have made him the subject of much criticism within the Orthodox community. ==Christian view== The Catholic Church has some of the Holocaust victims as canonization and martyrs. An example is the priest Maximilian Kolbe. Open Theism holds that the holocaust was the result of too little faith in God, rather than too much; and that it is ''non-sequitur'' to blame God for humanity's steadfast refusal to obey God's command to "Love our neighbors as ourselves." Others, such as a small segment within evangelicalism Christianity, explain the Holocaust as part of the curse of [http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?passage=Deuteronomy+28%3A15-68&x=13&y=6&NASB_version=yes&language=english Deuteronomy 28:15-68]. That passage says that if the Jews were not faithful to God, He would abandon them to judgment. Within this evangelical camp, there are differences of opinion as to what would happen next. In keeping with regular Supersessionism many of them (especially the Reformed theology camp) believe that God is essentially done with Israel as a nation, and that the Church of true believers has taken Israel's place as the covenant people of God. Others believe that the curse of judgment on Israel would only be temporary. According to this view, the Holocaust brought to a conclusion God's wrath upon the nation of Israel. The Holocaust victims are not seen as personally deserving of such suffering, but as "sacrificial lambs" (so to speak) on whom the final measure of the curse was poured out. This view considers them as heroes, not as criminals. This view then holds that, at some time subsequent to the Holocaust, God ceased to "give them up" [http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?passage=Micah+5%3A3&x=16&y=9&NASB_version=yes&language=english (Micah 5:3)]. While this evangelical view does not consider the people of Israel as being fully restored to the place of full blessing, it does assert that they are no longer in the place of cursing. The founding of the State of Israel in 1948, the continued return of dispersed Jews from throughout the world, Israel's victories in five wars since then against overwhelming odds, and the nation's significant economic growth are seen as proofs that the nation is no longer under judgment of Deuteronomy 28. Those who hold this view tend to overwhelmingly be pro-Israel and are often involved in Messianic Judaism or Messianic Discipleship in varying degrees, while those who hold that God is done with Israel may or may not be pro-Israel, and are opposed to Messianic Judaism, viewing it as an abandonment (at least, in part) of pure Christianity. ===Works of important Christian theologians=== (To be written.) ==See also== *World War II *The Holocaust *Judaism *Theology *Theodicy == External links == *[http://www.krusch.com/bethisrael/ Audio: Dr. Walter Ziffer, Holocaust survivor and theology professor, discusses this article] Hear Dr. Walter Ziffer (the last Holocaust survivor in Asheville, North Carolina as of April 11, 2004) discuss this article. *[http://www.shamash.org/listarchives/mail.liberal-judaism/digests/Volume11/v11n48.archive Ultra-Orthodoxy and the Holocaust] *[http://groups.msn.com/judaismfaqs/isgodamassmurdered.msnw Is God a mass murderer? Rejecting the Haredi theodicy] *[http://www.wujs.org.il/activist/activities/sources/theology/responses_to_suffering_in_the_holocaust.shtml Theology of Holocaust from WUJS] *[http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=108398 Belief after the Holocaust - Chabad (Hasidic) view] Holocaust Judaism Christianity
==11 million people== : I added a more total death toll for the Holocaust.--User:Urbane legend 00:30, 23 Jun 2005 (UTC) ==dont forget michael berenbaum and the christians: mary boys, frank littell, etc.== : ''In a very rare view that has not been adopted by any element of the Jewish or Christian community (that I know of), one thinker has proposed that the Holocaust is the ultimate form of vicarious atonement. The Jewish people become in fact the "suffering servant" of Isaiah. The Jewish people collectively suffer for the sins of the world.'' ==Who is this "one thinker", and why should I care?== Is this code for the author? User:MyRedDice 20:52, 30 Aug 2003 (UTC) :Just because one might not care doesn't make it less worthy to include. Also, no, it is not my personal view. It is the controversial view of Reform Rabbi Ignaz Maybaum (1897-1976). (born in Vienna, served as rabbi at Bingen (Rhineland) and Berlin, and later emigrated to England.) The view mentioned was much read, and is from ''The Face of God After Auschwitz'', pages 35 and 36. User:RK 01:59, 31 Aug 2003 (UTC) :: Thanks for clearing that up, RK :) User:MyRedDice ==What is "Yeted Ne'eman, 18 Tevet 5751 (1 April 1991)"?== A journal or newspaper? Or a hint at April's fool? All I know is that that the date of 18 Tevet 5751 was ''not'' in April 1991. User:Aleph4 23:02, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC) I removed the sentence ''Those who are loyal to Rabbi Schach gave a reaction to this in Yeted Ne'eman, 18 Tevet 5751 (1 April 1991)'' from the paragraph with Schach's warning. First, the sentence is not informative -- it states that there was a reaction, but what exactly was it? (I would assume that those who are loyal to Rabbi Schach reacted to Schach's warning in a way that showed their loyalty, but even that does not tell us much.) Second, it is not explained what Yeted Ne'eman is. (A Google search indicates that it is the newspaper of Israel's United Torah Judaism.) Third, the date "18 Tevet 5751 (1 April 1991)" is clearly wrong -- whoever wrote lacks basic familiarity with the Hebrew Calendar, so I suspect s/he is not an expert in Jewish theology, either. The month of Tevet usually begins in December; 18 Tevet 5751 was 1991-01-04, not 1991-04-01. User:Aleph4 14:47, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC) == Many or few == Many or Few? It was stated that "Within evangelical Christianity, there are many who explain the Holocaust as part of the curse of Deuteronomy 28... ." "Many" was changed by Ungtss to "a few". In the absence of statistical data, the argument about the percentage or quantity of evangelicals who say this can only be determined anecdotally (based upon one's observations). I suggest that the difference of opinion between me and Ungtss is perhaps due to the different spheres in which we live. Why? Because in my theological camp (which is very pro-Israel and very pro-Jewish), there is little dispute that the Holocaust certainly wasn't an exhibit of God's blessings on the Jews, but definitely reflects the kinds of events that are predicted in the curse of Deuteronomy 28. In my extensive experience throughout the country in many churches and with many ministers in many evangelical denominations, I would say that this analysis is accurate for most of them. (But understand that they would say this without any animus toward those Jews nor out of any belief that those Jews who suffered were in any way personally deserving of such suffering; nor would they say it with any desire to diminish their contempt and loathing for Hitler, but with a feeling that he is definitely deserving of the hottest regions of hell.) In my experience, saying that ''few'' evangelicals hold this would have to be characterized as misleading at best, and utterly false at worst. I do not suggest that Ungtss' experience does not substantiate his belief that only "a few" evangelicals hold to this. But even though "many" and "few" are relative terms, I believe that ''many'' is correct and ''few'' is wrong. For, "few" suggests that finding such people is rare, that they are an anomaly, and that their opinion does not naturally flow from evangelical premises and foundational convictions. Leaving the word "few" in the entry would naturally lead to that inference. And that would incorrect. Here is why. To reduce the premises of the evangelicals who hold this to a simple explanation, the following can be stated: 1. As God's chosen people, He promises to deal with the Jews on the basis of the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 27-28. 2. The Jewish experiences of the Holocaust were horrible beyond description. 3. Therefore, the Holocaust reflected the curses of Deuteronomy 27-28, not the blessings. Since most evangelicals (virtually all) take the Bible at face value and affirm that its statements are true (at least in some sense), I would expect that most evangelicals who examine the issue being disputed here would affirm these three statements made. However, to say that ''most'' evangelicals hold this would be saying more than can be fairly stated apart from an actual survey. And the truth is, most evangelicals have probably never really thought about the issue. But many have, and many agree. I believe that saying ''most'' hold this view would be overstating the issue, just as saying ''a few'' hold it is severely understating the issue. But I fear that this discussion loses sight of the central thesis of the paragraph in which it is found: that the current experiences of the Jews do not reflect the extreme suffering of Deuteronomy 27-28, but the overall positive experiences of Deuteronomy 27-28, and that therefore, God's Chose People are no longer being "given up" to judgment, but that of necessity, the time of their full restoration to blessing is drawing near. On this point also, I would say that many (if not most) evangelicals agree. Consequently, I will be changing the entry back to reading "many" after I have given time for more discussion on the issue. User:Chad A. Woodburn :well put points all ... although i won't lie to you, i grew up among evangelicals and have never EVER heard it before. in my circles, it would be considered almost fascist to suggest the God ''intended'' the holocaust ... punishing little baby girls for the sins of their ancestors, as he promised not to do in deuteronomy. How about we compromise with "Some"? User:Ungtss 02:15, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) ::"Many" and "few" both seem, frankly, to be "weasel-words". Are there statistics? If not, then "some" should be used. Even better would be naming some evangelicals who support this view. Please recall, Wikipedia articles are not supposed to be our own interpretations of events, but rather should summarize the various significant positions. User:Jayjg 03:15, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) I appreciate the points of both of you (Ungtss and Jayjg), and had been thinking the same thing. Jayjg, I read your user page and share your concerns about those who see Wikipedia as a forum for their propaganda, rather than for simply presenting "significant positions". My concern with the use of the word "few" is that it reduced that evangelical "Holocaust theology" viewpoint to an insignificant position, and therefore perhaps not significant enough to be include. However, the absence of statistics should not prevent the use of "many", since if those statistics existed, a percentage would be used instead. I don't need statistics to be able to say that "many preachers use the King James Version" or to say that "many evangelicals use the New International Version." To anyone who has had broad interaction with both preachers and evangelicals, these statements are in the "duh" category. And in a discussion on that topic, it would add nothing to the subject to "nam[e] some evangelicals who" reflect this practice. Frankly, to me the use of "many" in the entry was the same kind of "duh" statement. Ungtss, thank you for your input. I think "some" would be good. Whether the view is considered fascist or not, the issue is whether it is common or not, not whether it is socially acceptable or not. For myself, it is a strain for me to believe that you have never ever heard of it before, and yet that you claim to have an informed evangelical background (ouch--I don't mean that as sarcasm). Surely you have heard of Calvinists, all of whom believe that God has decreed all that takes place. And even among many of the non-Calvinists and Arminian evangelicals, there are "many" who believe that all that happens has either been decreed by God or else has been specifically allowed by God (the permissive will of God). Most "Bible-believing" evangelicals fall into these two groups. For them, the connection between the Holocaust and Deut. 28 is a straight shot. In fact, the most reasonable, natural deduction is to assume that anyone who believes that God is directly involved in all that happens and that He has the power to do what He wants must also believe that God had a purpose in allowing the Holocaust. (That is, after all, a major point of this Wikipedia article on "Holocaust theology", which is trying to identify what that purpose is. The only other alternative is to say that God stood idly by doing nothing and yet had no reason to not get involved--a view fitting perhaps for Deists, but not intuitive for Theists.) :thank you for your articulate response -- i'm sorry if it sounded as tho i was implying the idea itself was fascist -- that was not my intent, although in hindsight it certainly looked that way. just food for thought: the calvinists i have known have indeed ascribed to hard-predestination ... but have stopped short of some of its implications, such as the idea that the holocaust was part of God's will. events such as the holocaust have caused me to question reformed theology ... and more broadly, augustinian theology in general, and have led me to another view: Open Theism ... but i can definitely understand and respect your viewpoint:). User:Ungtss 18:47, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC) Once again there is an objection to suggesting that anything other than a tiny minority of Evangelicals hold to this view. On Jan. 4, 2005 the entry was changed from "Some within the Evangelical camp" to "Some such as a small segment within the Evangelical camp." I consider this to be utterly misleading. It is by no means a small segment. Although perhaps most do not want to state the case this way (because they probably see it as offensive even though they don't mean it that way), the fact is that when the beliefs of Evangelicals about the Jews, about God's discipline and judgment, and about His sovereignty are put together, there is no way around it. It may be true that only a small segment within the Evangelical camp will come right out and say it bluntly, it is the unavoidable implication of their beliefs. Since this disagreement here is obviously not going to go away, perhaps the way to handle this in a manner that is agreeable to all is to include the fact of disagreement about how many people hold to what in the statement of the issue. For example, it could be said that some within the Evangelical camp deny that there is any correlation between Deut. 28 and the Holocaust, while others hold that the correlation is clear. Those who deny the connection view the other side as fringe and a tiny minority, while those who see the connection view the other side as equivocating on the issue due to political correctness. How would the normal, informed Evangelical (who claims to believe the Bible) answer these questions: Does Deut. 27-28 state that if the Israelites (Jews) would obey God, He could bless them and protect them? Does it state that if they disobeyed Him, He would judge them? Do Evangelicals believe that the Jews are fully obeying God (in terms of His revelation in the New Testament)? Does the Holocaust fit the pattern of God blessing the Jews or judging them? I'm sorry, but I cannot see how anyone can honestly contend that only a small segment within the Evangelical camp can honestly hold that the connection between Deut. 28 and the Holocaust is not clear and strong. User:Chad A. Woodburn 6:43 pm EST, Jan. 4, 2005 (the 10th day of Christmas). :My original suggestion was to list significant groups or individuals who feel this way. If you could do that, preferably with links to them outlining these positions, I think it would go a long way to ending this battle over vague claims. User:Jayjg | User_talk:Jayjg 16:25, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)
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Holocaust theology
Holocaust theology refers to a body of theology and philosophy debate, soul-searching, and analysis, with the subsequent related literature, that attempts to come to grips with various conflicting views about the role of God in this human world and the dark events of the Europe the Holocaust that occurred during World War II (1939-1945) when around 11 million people, including six million Jews were subjected to genocide by the Nazis and their cohorts. Judaism and Christianity traditionally have taught that God is Omnipotence (all powerful), Omniscience (all knowing) and omnibenevolence (all good). Yet, these claims are in jarring contrast with the fact that there is much evil in the world. Perhaps the most difficult question that monotheists have confronted is how can we reconcile the existence of this view of God with the existence of evil? This is the problem of evil. Within all the monotheistic faiths many answers (theodicy) have been proposed. However, in light of the magnitude of evil seen in the Holocaust, many people have re-examined classical views on this subject. How can people still have any kind of faith after the Holocaust? ==Jewish theological responses== Here are some of the major responses that Jews have had in response to the Holocaust: * No new response is needed. The Holocaust is like all other horrific tragedies. This event merely prompts us again to investigate the issue of why bad things sometimes happen to good people. The Holocaust shouldn't change our theology. * Rabbinic Judaism has a doctrine from the Tanakh called ''mi-penei hataeinu'', "because of our sins we were punished". During Biblical times when calamities befell the Jewish people, the Jewish prophets stressed that suffering is a natural result of not following God's law, and prosperity, peace and health are the natural results of following God's law. Therefore, some people in the Orthodox Judaism community have taught that the Jewish people in Europe were deeply sinful. In this view, the Holocaust is a just retribution from God. * The Holocaust is an instance of the temporary "Eclipse of God". There are times when God is inexplicably absent from history. * If there were a God, He would surely have prevented the Holocaust. Since God did not prevent it, then God never really existed in the first place. * "God is dead". If there were a God, He would surely have prevented the Holocaust. Since God did not prevent it, then God has for some reason turned away from the world, and left us to ourselves forever more. God is therefore no longer relevant to humanity. * Terrible events such as the Holocaust are the price we have to pay for having free will. In this view, God will not and cannot interfere with history, otherwise our free will would effectively cease to exist. The Holocaust only reflects poorly on humanity, not God. * Perhaps the Holocaust is in some way a revelation from God: The event issues a call for Jewish affirmation for survival. * The Holocaust is a mystery beyond our comprehension. It may have a meaning or a purpose, but if so this meaning transcends human understanding. * The Jewish people become in fact the "suffering servant" of Isaiah. The Jewish people collectively suffer for the sins of the world. (Also mentioned by Reform Rabbi Ignaz Maybaum proposed that the Holocaust is the ultimate form of vicarious atonement.''The Face of God After Auschwitz'', pages 35 and 36.) * God does exist, but God is not Omnipotence. All of the above arguments are based on the assumption that God is omnipotent, and could have interfered to stop the Holocaust. What if this is not so? In this view, the Holocaust thus only reflects poorly on humanity, not God. This is a view promoted by many liberal theologians, including Rabbi Harold Kushner. ===Orthodox and Haredi Jewish responses=== Many within Haredi Judaism blame the Holocaust on the abandonment of many European Jews of traditional Judaism, and their embrace of other ideologies such as Socialism, Zionism, or various non-Orthodox Jewish movements. Others suggest that God sent the Nazis to kill the Jews because Orthodox European Jews did not do enough to fight these trends, or did not support Zionism. In this Haredi theodicy, the Jews of Europe were sinners who deserved to die, and the actions of God which allowed this were righteous and just. * Satmar (Hasidic dynasty) leader Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum writes: :''Because of our sinfulness we have suffered greatly, suffering as bitter as wormwood, worse than any Israel has know since it became a people...In former times, whenever troubles befell Jacob, the matter was pondered and reasons sought--which sin had brought the troubles about--so that we could make amends and return to the Lord, may He be blessed...But in our generation one need not look far for the sin responsible for our calamity...The heretics have made all kinds of efforts to violate these oaths, to go up by force and to seize sovereignty and freedom by themselves, before the appointed time...[They] have lured the majority of the Jewish people into awful heresy, the like of which as not been seen since the world was created...And so it is no wonder that the Lord has lashed out in anger...And there were also righteous people who perished because of the iniquity of the sinners and corrupters, so great was the [divine] wrath.'' [Aviezer Ravitzky, Messianism, Zionism and Jewish Religious Radicalism (1996 by The University of Chicago), p. 124.] * There were redemptionist Zionism, at the other end of the spectrum, who also saw the Holocaust as a collective punishment for a collective sin: ongoing Jewish unfaithfulness to the Land of Israel. Rabbi Mordecai Atiyah was a leading advocate of this idea. Rabbi Zvi Yehudah Kook and his disciples, for their part, avoided this harsh position, but they too theologically related the Holocaust to the Jewish recognition of Zion. Kook writes "When the end comes and Israel fails to recognize it, there comes a cruel divine operation that removes [the Jewish people] from its exile. [Aviezer Ravitzky, ibid.] * Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky, in 1939, stated that the Nazi persecution of the Jews was the fault of non-Orthodox Jews (Achiezer, volume III, Vilna 1939, in the introduction. This is discussed in "Piety & Power: The World of Jewish Fundamentalism" by Orthodox author David Landau (1993, Hill & Wang). * Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler had similar views, also discussed in Landau's book. * A few Haredi rabbis today warn that a failure to follow Orthodox interpretations of halakha will cause God to send another Holocaust. Rabbi Eliezer Man Schach, a leader of the Lithuanian Jews yeshiva Orthodoxy in Israel until his death in 2002 made this claim on the eve of the 1991 Gulf War. He stated that there would be a new Holocaust in punishment for the abandonment of religion and "desecration" of Shabbat in Israel. ===Modern Orthodox Jewish views=== Most Modern Orthodox Judaism Jews reject the idea that the Holocaust was God's fault. Modern Orthodox rabbis such as Joseph Soloveitchik, Norman Lamm, Abraham Besdin, Emanuel Rackman, Eliezer Berkovits and others have written on this issue; many of their works have been collected in a volume published by the Rabbinical Council of America: ''Theological and Halakhic Reflections on the Holocaust'' (edited by Bernhard H. Rosenberg and Fred Heuman, Ktav/RCA, 1992). ==Works of important Jewish theologians== === Michael Berenbaum === (To be written.) ===Richard Rubinstein=== Prof. Richard Rubenstein's original piece on this issue, "After Auschwitz", held that the only intellectually honest response to the Holocaust is the rejection of God, and the recognition that all existence is ultimately meaninglessness. There is no divine plan or purpose, no God that reveals His will to mankind, and God does not care about the world. Man must assert and create his own value in life. This view has been rejected by Jews of all religious denominations, but his works were widely read in the Jewish community in the 1970s. Since that time Rubinstein has begun to move away from this view; his later works affirm of form of deism in which one may believe that God may exist as the basis for reality. His later works include Kabbalah notions of then nature of God. ===Emil Fackenheim=== Emil Fackenheim is known for his understanding that people must look carefully at the Holocaust, and to find within it a new Revelation. For Fackenheim, the Holocaust was an "epoch-making event". In contrast to Richard Rubenstein's most well-known views, Fackenheim holds that people must still affirm their belief in God and God's continued role in the world. Fackenheim holds that the Holocaust reveals unto us a new Biblical commandment, "We are forbidden to hand Hitler posthumous victories". ===Ignaz Maybaum=== In a rare view that has not been adopted by any element of the Jewish or Christian community (that I know of), Ignaz Maybaum has proposed that the Holocaust is the ultimate form of vicarious atonement. The Jewish people become in fact the "suffering servant" of Isaiah. The Jewish people suffer for the sins of the world. In his view "In Auschwitz Jews suffered vicarious atonement for the sins of mankind." ===Eliezer Berkovits=== Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits (1908-1992) holds that man's free will depends on God's decision to remain hidden. If God were to reveal himself in history and hold back the hand of tyrants, man's free will would be rendered non-existent. Many of Berkovits' books will be republished by the Eliezer Berkovits Institute for Jewish Thought under the auspices of the Shalem Center, Jerusalem. ===Harold Kushner, Williams Kaufman and Milton Steiberg=== Rabbis Harold Kushner, William E. Kaufman, Milton Steinberg believe that God is not Omnipotence, and thus is not to blame for mankind's abuse of free will. Thus, there is no contradiction between the existence of a good God and the existence of massive evil by part of mankind. It is calimed that this is also the view expressed by some classical Jewish authorities, such as Abraham ibn Daud, Abraham ibn Ezra, and Gersonides. ===David Weiss Halivni=== Rabbi David Weiss Halivni is himself a Holocaust-survivor from Hungary. (Rest to be written) ===Irving Greenberg=== Rabbi Irving Greenberg is a Modern Orthodox rabbi who has written extensively on how the Holocaust should affect Jewish theology. Greenberg has an Orthodox understanding of God. Like many other Orthodox Jews, he does not believe that God forces people to follow Jewish law; rather he believes that Jewish law is God's will for the Jewish people, and that Jews ''should'' follow Jewish law as normative. Greenberg's break with Orthodox theology comes with his analysis of the implications of the Holocaust. He writes that the worst thing that God could do to the Jewish people for failing to follow the law is Holocaust-level devastation, yet this has already occurred. Greenberg is not claiming that God ''did'' use the Holocaust to punish Jews; he is just saying that if God chose to do so, that would be the worst possible thing. There really isn't much worse that one could do. Therefore, since God can't punish us any worse than what actually has happened, and since God doesn't force Jews to follow Jewish law, then we can't claim that these laws are enforceable on us. Therefore he argues that the covenant between God and the Jewish people is effectively broken and unenforceable. Greenberg notes that there have been several terrible destructions of the Jewish community, each with the effect of distancing the Jewish people further from God. According to rabbinic literature, after the destruction of the first Temple in Jerusalem and the mass-killing of Jerusalem's Jews, the Jews received no more direct prophecy. After the destruction of the second Temple in Jerusalem and the mass-killing of Jerusalem's Jews, the Jews no longer could present sacrifices at the Temple. This way of reaching God was at an end. After the Holocaust, Greenberg concludes that God isn't responding to the prayers of Jews anymore. Thus, God has unilaterally broken his covenant with the Jewish people. In this view, God no longer has the moral authority to command people to follow his will. Greenberg does not conclude that Jews and God should part way; rather he holds that we should heal the covenant between Jews and God, and that the Jewish people should accept Jewish law on a voluntary basis. His views on this subject have made him the subject of much criticism within the Orthodox community. ==Christian view== The Catholic Church has some of the Holocaust victims as canonization and martyrs. An example is the priest Maximilian Kolbe. Open Theism holds that the holocaust was the result of too little faith in God, rather than too much; and that it is ''non-sequitur'' to blame God for humanity's steadfast refusal to obey God's command to "Love our neighbors as ourselves." Others, such as a small segment within evangelicalism Christianity, explain the Holocaust as part of the curse of [http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?passage=Deuteronomy+28%3A15-68&x=13&y=6&NASB_version=yes&language=english Deuteronomy 28:15-68]. That passage says that if the Jews were not faithful to God, He would abandon them to judgment. Within this evangelical camp, there are differences of opinion as to what would happen next. In keeping with regular Supersessionism many of them (especially the Reformed theology camp) believe that God is essentially done with Israel as a nation, and that the Church of true believers has taken Israel's place as the covenant people of God. Others believe that the curse of judgment on Israel would only be temporary. According to this view, the Holocaust brought to a conclusion God's wrath upon the nation of Israel. The Holocaust victims are not seen as personally deserving of such suffering, but as "sacrificial lambs" (so to speak) on whom the final measure of the curse was poured out. This view considers them as heroes, not as criminals. This view then holds that, at some time subsequent to the Holocaust, God ceased to "give them up" [http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?passage=Micah+5%3A3&x=16&y=9&NASB_version=yes&language=english (Micah 5:3)]. While this evangelical view does not consider the people of Israel as being fully restored to the place of full blessing, it does assert that they are no longer in the place of cursing. The founding of the State of Israel in 1948, the continued return of dispersed Jews from throughout the world, Israel's victories in five wars since then against overwhelming odds, and the nation's significant economic growth are seen as proofs that the nation is no longer under judgment of Deuteronomy 28. Those who hold this view tend to overwhelmingly be pro-Israel and are often involved in Messianic Judaism or Messianic Discipleship in varying degrees, while those who hold that God is done with Israel may or may not be pro-Israel, and are opposed to Messianic Judaism, viewing it as an abandonment (at least, in part) of pure Christianity. ===Works of important Christian theologians=== (To be written.) ==See also== *World War II *The Holocaust *Judaism *Theology *Theodicy == External links == *[http://www.krusch.com/bethisrael/ Audio: Dr. Walter Ziffer, Holocaust survivor and theology professor, discusses this article] Hear Dr. Walter Ziffer (the last Holocaust survivor in Asheville, North Carolina as of April 11, 2004) discuss this article. *[http://www.shamash.org/listarchives/mail.liberal-judaism/digests/Volume11/v11n48.archive Ultra-Orthodoxy and the Holocaust] *[http://groups.msn.com/judaismfaqs/isgodamassmurdered.msnw Is God a mass murderer? Rejecting the Haredi theodicy] *[http://www.wujs.org.il/activist/activities/sources/theology/responses_to_suffering_in_the_holocaust.shtml Theology of Holocaust from WUJS] *[http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=108398 Belief after the Holocaust - Chabad (Hasidic) view] Holocaust Judaism Christianity
Holocaust theology
==11 million people== : I added a more total death toll for the Holocaust.--User:Urbane legend 00:30, 23 Jun 2005 (UTC) ==dont forget michael berenbaum and the christians: mary boys, frank littell, etc.== : ''In a very rare view that has not been adopted by any element of the Jewish or Christian community (that I know of), one thinker has proposed that the Holocaust is the ultimate form of vicarious atonement. The Jewish people become in fact the "suffering servant" of Isaiah. The Jewish people collectively suffer for the sins of the world.'' ==Who is this "one thinker", and why should I care?== Is this code for the author? User:MyRedDice 20:52, 30 Aug 2003 (UTC) :Just because one might not care doesn't make it less worthy to include. Also, no, it is not my personal view. It is the controversial view of Reform Rabbi Ignaz Maybaum (1897-1976). (born in Vienna, served as rabbi at Bingen (Rhineland) and Berlin, and later emigrated to England.) The view mentioned was much read, and is from ''The Face of God After Auschwitz'', pages 35 and 36. User:RK 01:59, 31 Aug 2003 (UTC) :: Thanks for clearing that up, RK :) User:MyRedDice ==What is "Yeted Ne'eman, 18 Tevet 5751 (1 April 1991)"?== A journal or newspaper? Or a hint at April's fool? All I know is that that the date of 18 Tevet 5751 was ''not'' in April 1991. User:Aleph4 23:02, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC) I removed the sentence ''Those who are loyal to Rabbi Schach gave a reaction to this in Yeted Ne'eman, 18 Tevet 5751 (1 April 1991)'' from the paragraph with Schach's warning. First, the sentence is not informative -- it states that there was a reaction, but what exactly was it? (I would assume that those who are loyal to Rabbi Schach reacted to Schach's warning in a way that showed their loyalty, but even that does not tell us much.) Second, it is not explained what Yeted Ne'eman is. (A Google search indicates that it is the newspaper of Israel's United Torah Judaism.) Third, the date "18 Tevet 5751 (1 April 1991)" is clearly wrong -- whoever wrote lacks basic familiarity with the Hebrew Calendar, so I suspect s/he is not an expert in Jewish theology, either. The month of Tevet usually begins in December; 18 Tevet 5751 was 1991-01-04, not 1991-04-01. User:Aleph4 14:47, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC) == Many or few == Many or Few? It was stated that "Within evangelical Christianity, there are many who explain the Holocaust as part of the curse of Deuteronomy 28... ." "Many" was changed by Ungtss to "a few". In the absence of statistical data, the argument about the percentage or quantity of evangelicals who say this can only be determined anecdotally (based upon one's observations). I suggest that the difference of opinion between me and Ungtss is perhaps due to the different spheres in which we live. Why? Because in my theological camp (which is very pro-Israel and very pro-Jewish), there is little dispute that the Holocaust certainly wasn't an exhibit of God's blessings on the Jews, but definitely reflects the kinds of events that are predicted in the curse of Deuteronomy 28. In my extensive experience throughout the country in many churches and with many ministers in many evangelical denominations, I would say that this analysis is accurate for most of them. (But understand that they would say this without any animus toward those Jews nor out of any belief that those Jews who suffered were in any way personally deserving of such suffering; nor would they say it with any desire to diminish their contempt and loathing for Hitler, but with a feeling that he is definitely deserving of the hottest regions of hell.) In my experience, saying that ''few'' evangelicals hold this would have to be characterized as misleading at best, and utterly false at worst. I do not suggest that Ungtss' experience does not substantiate his belief that only "a few" evangelicals hold to this. But even though "many" and "few" are relative terms, I believe that ''many'' is correct and ''few'' is wrong. For, "few" suggests that finding such people is rare, that they are an anomaly, and that their opinion does not naturally flow from evangelical premises and foundational convictions. Leaving the word "few" in the entry would naturally lead to that inference. And that would incorrect. Here is why. To reduce the premises of the evangelicals who hold this to a simple explanation, the following can be stated: 1. As God's chosen people, He promises to deal with the Jews on the basis of the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 27-28. 2. The Jewish experiences of the Holocaust were horrible beyond description. 3. Therefore, the Holocaust reflected the curses of Deuteronomy 27-28, not the blessings. Since most evangelicals (virtually all) take the Bible at face value and affirm that its statements are true (at least in some sense), I would expect that most evangelicals who examine the issue being disputed here would affirm these three statements made. However, to say that ''most'' evangelicals hold this would be saying more than can be fairly stated apart from an actual survey. And the truth is, most evangelicals have probably never really thought about the issue. But many have, and many agree. I believe that saying ''most'' hold this view would be overstating the issue, just as saying ''a few'' hold it is severely understating the issue. But I fear that this discussion loses sight of the central thesis of the paragraph in which it is found: that the current experiences of the Jews do not reflect the extreme suffering of Deuteronomy 27-28, but the overall positive experiences of Deuteronomy 27-28, and that therefore, God's Chose People are no longer being "given up" to judgment, but that of necessity, the time of their full restoration to blessing is drawing near. On this point also, I would say that many (if not most) evangelicals agree. Consequently, I will be changing the entry back to reading "many" after I have given time for more discussion on the issue. User:Chad A. Woodburn :well put points all ... although i won't lie to you, i grew up among evangelicals and have never EVER heard it before. in my circles, it would be considered almost fascist to suggest the God ''intended'' the holocaust ... punishing little baby girls for the sins of their ancestors, as he promised not to do in deuteronomy. How about we compromise with "Some"? User:Ungtss 02:15, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) ::"Many" and "few" both seem, frankly, to be "weasel-words". Are there statistics? If not, then "some" should be used. Even better would be naming some evangelicals who support this view. Please recall, Wikipedia articles are not supposed to be our own interpretations of events, but rather should summarize the various significant positions. User:Jayjg 03:15, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) I appreciate the points of both of you (Ungtss and Jayjg), and had been thinking the same thing. Jayjg, I read your user page and share your concerns about those who see Wikipedia as a forum for their propaganda, rather than for simply presenting "significant positions". My concern with the use of the word "few" is that it reduced that evangelical "Holocaust theology" viewpoint to an insignificant position, and therefore perhaps not significant enough to be include. However, the absence of statistics should not prevent the use of "many", since if those statistics existed, a percentage would be used instead. I don't need statistics to be able to say that "many preachers use the King James Version" or to say that "many evangelicals use the New International Version." To anyone who has had broad interaction with both preachers and evangelicals, these statements are in the "duh" category. And in a discussion on that topic, it would add nothing to the subject to "nam[e] some evangelicals who" reflect this practice. Frankly, to me the use of "many" in the entry was the same kind of "duh" statement. Ungtss, thank you for your input. I think "some" would be good. Whether the view is considered fascist or not, the issue is whether it is common or not, not whether it is socially acceptable or not. For myself, it is a strain for me to believe that you have never ever heard of it before, and yet that you claim to have an informed evangelical background (ouch--I don't mean that as sarcasm). Surely you have heard of Calvinists, all of whom believe that God has decreed all that takes place. And even among many of the non-Calvinists and Arminian evangelicals, there are "many" who believe that all that happens has either been decreed by God or else has been specifically allowed by God (the permissive will of God). Most "Bible-believing" evangelicals fall into these two groups. For them, the connection between the Holocaust and Deut. 28 is a straight shot. In fact, the most reasonable, natural deduction is to assume that anyone who believes that God is directly involved in all that happens and that He has the power to do what He wants must also believe that God had a purpose in allowing the Holocaust. (That is, after all, a major point of this Wikipedia article on "Holocaust theology", which is trying to identify what that purpose is. The only other alternative is to say that God stood idly by doing nothing and yet had no reason to not get involved--a view fitting perhaps for Deists, but not intuitive for Theists.) :thank you for your articulate response -- i'm sorry if it sounded as tho i was implying the idea itself was fascist -- that was not my intent, although in hindsight it certainly looked that way. just food for thought: the calvinists i have known have indeed ascribed to hard-predestination ... but have stopped short of some of its implications, such as the idea that the holocaust was part of God's will. events such as the holocaust have caused me to question reformed theology ... and more broadly, augustinian theology in general, and have led me to another view: Open Theism ... but i can definitely understand and respect your viewpoint:). User:Ungtss 18:47, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC) Once again there is an objection to suggesting that anything other than a tiny minority of Evangelicals hold to this view. On Jan. 4, 2005 the entry was changed from "Some within the Evangelical camp" to "Some such as a small segment within the Evangelical camp." I consider this to be utterly misleading. It is by no means a small segment. Although perhaps most do not want to state the case this way (because they probably see it as offensive even though they don't mean it that way), the fact is that when the beliefs of Evangelicals about the Jews, about God's discipline and judgment, and about His sovereignty are put together, there is no way around it. It may be true that only a small segment within the Evangelical camp will come right out and say it bluntly, it is the unavoidable implication of their beliefs. Since this disagreement here is obviously not going to go away, perhaps the way to handle this in a manner that is agreeable to all is to include the fact of disagreement about how many people hold to what in the statement of the issue. For example, it could be said that some within the Evangelical camp deny that there is any correlation between Deut. 28 and the Holocaust, while others hold that the correlation is clear. Those who deny the connection view the other side as fringe and a tiny minority, while those who see the connection view the other side as equivocating on the issue due to political correctness. How would the normal, informed Evangelical (who claims to believe the Bible) answer these questions: Does Deut. 27-28 state that if the Israelites (Jews) would obey God, He could bless them and protect them? Does it state that if they disobeyed Him, He would judge them? Do Evangelicals believe that the Jews are fully obeying God (in terms of His revelation in the New Testament)? Does the Holocaust fit the pattern of God blessing the Jews or judging them? I'm sorry, but I cannot see how anyone can honestly contend that only a small segment within the Evangelical camp can honestly hold that the connection between Deut. 28 and the Holocaust is not clear and strong. User:Chad A. Woodburn 6:43 pm EST, Jan. 4, 2005 (the 10th day of Christmas). :My original suggestion was to list significant groups or individuals who feel this way. If you could do that, preferably with links to them outlining these positions, I think it would go a long way to ending this battle over vague claims. User:Jayjg | User_talk:Jayjg 16:25, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)
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