Each year (this week on Thursday) we mourn the vast destruction of European Jewry. Rabbi Geller shares a few ideas and follows people who managed to hold onto their faith despite living through this man-made hell. How can we fathom God’s attribute of justice, and His face being so hidden? And how did the enlightenment movement affect the picture of Jewry at that time?
With broad brushstrokes, we hear the history of the Jews in Poland - a country whose rich Jewish culture is rivaled only by the golden ages of Babylon and Spain. Poland saw brilliant highlights such as the Volozhin Yeshivah, and the darkest lows of violent pogroms - ending in the Holocaust. A fascinating overview of what European Jewry saw and built, and who they have become today.
With broad brushstrokes, Rabbi Ken Spiro sketches the history of the Jews in Poland, a land who's rich Jewish presence is only rivaled by the earlier communities of Babylon and golden Spain. We saw brilliant highlights such as the Volozhin yehivah, and the dark lows of violent pogroms - and ended our turbulent stay with the black finale of the Holocaust. A must listen to gain an understanding of what we've seen, built, and gone through - and who we are today.
Can anyone ever explain the Holocaust? No, says Rabbi Kirzner – but looking at it through the eyes of the Torah and the historical trends that have occurred in cycles over and over, perhaps we can gain a deeper wisdom about it. His gentle handling of an emotionally loaded subject provides just that understanding, with frightening implications for our world today.
Why does this nation always end up being the scapegoat? Can it be that we are just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Rabbi Rob Shore presents a perspective of antisemism that you most likely never heard in school. A very powerful class that is intelligent in its approach and inspirational in its message.
Although we can never fully understand why the Holocaust happened, Rav Weinberg's discussion on suffering, punishment and teshuva in relation to the Churban Bayis Sheini shows the deeper underlying causes for large-scale tragedies. This talk is an important reminder of how history repeats itself.