THE NATURE OF ULTRA-ORTHODOX RESPONSES TO THE HOLOCAUST

Abstract

This study examines the religious response to the Shoah of Rabbi Kalonymous Shapira, a Chasidic leader in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Second World War. The responses of the UltraOrthodox to the Holocaust have long been neglected and/or marginalized, only coming back into considered focus in more recent years. These responses were often associated with the idea of contains surprising elements concerning his attempt to understand theologically the unfolding sufferings through which he and his community lived (and died). These surprising tendencies can be characterized as ‘atheodic’ and ‘antitheodic’ in nature in that they evidence the relinquishing of the effort to justify and explain the suffering. Together these tendencies show Shapira’s response to be both more complex and sensitive than Ultra-Orthodox thought has often been given credit for.