[Avodah] shoa

[Akiva Miller]

.
R' Joel Rich asked:

> A recent article made the case that the shoa was sui
> generis in Jewish history. Would you agree or disagree?
> (more of interest to me – why?)

It would be a lot easier to respond to that article if you'd give us a link
or some other reference to it. But, given this short post, I'll offer some
ideas.

R' Micha Berger responded:

> I can see only two options: Either the Shoa was Chevlei
> Mashiach, ... Or, chas vechalila, it wasn't Chevlei Mashiach. ...

I see a third option. Note that the word "chevlei" is plural. Perhaps the
Shoa was one event in a series of events, which collectively constitute
"Chevlei Mashiach". I have always been taught that all of the pogroms etc
of the past 19.5 centuries are all tafel to Churban Bayis Sheni.

See, for example, Igros Moshe YD 4:57:11, where Rav Moshe explains that
Chmelnitzki was an exception that proves the rule: The gezeros of Tach
V'Tat were not government programs, but rebellious uprisings *against* the
government. Hitler ym"sh and all other government actions were merely
continuations of Tisha B'Av.

R' Micha Berger also wrote:

> Not "only" numerically, but theologically also, it left us
> bereft in a way no other tragedy did before.

Do you have data on this? I'm not disagreeing with you, I just have no idea
what the actual numbers are. For example, how many Jews were murdered in
the Crusades? Either as raw numbers, or as a percentage of world Jewry, I'd
like to know. (Yes, I am aware that the Crusades lasted much longer than
the Nazis, but still, some cold numbers would be the starting point for
comparisions.)

Akiva Miller
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