To Redeem History

Why? What was our sin that the punishment is so severe? We debated this
question more than once in Belsen. Philosophizing Jews attempted to delve
deeply into the truth and grasp the course of events. All the debates ended with
an ancient conclusion: God’s ways in running the world are inestimably beyond
anything a mortal can understand.
Rabbi Ephraim Londner, postwar
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The harrowing events of the Holocaust were a stark confrontation between Nazi
perpetrators and their Jewish victims. As the catastrophe unfolded, thinkers from
different streams of Orthodox Judaism grappled with its meaning, offering profound
theological interpretations to unimaginable suffering.
To Redeem History gives voice to these Orthodox rabbinic authorities, tracing
how they responded as events progressed. How did Orthodox thinkers react to
the unprecedented persecution witnessed before the war? Did their views shift
as conditions worsened? And how did they interpret the Holocaust in its painful
aftermath? Drawing from each Orthodox stream’s distinct beliefs and traditions, their
interpretations were shaped by key recurring themes: the ancient enemy Amalek,
ideas of self-sacrifice and martyrdom, hopes of redemption, and the roles of silence,
blame, and divine judgment.
Opening a window into the spiritual world of the past, To Redeem History reveals the
depth and resilience of faith that sustained Orthodox Jews during this dark chapter.
In doing so, it not only preserves and commemorates these powerful religious
responses but also offers the possibility of reawakening this spiritual legacy for
generations to come.