Post Holocaust Theory

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Rabbi Rubenstein’s Post Holocaust Theology


The Holocaust is one of the biggest atrocities in the history of mankind. Many people had their faith tried and tested during and after the Holocaust. Some people even lost their faith all together. In response to this horrific crime Post-Holocaust Theologies were written. One such example is Rabbi Rubenstein who wrote a theology stating that the God of Jewish history does not exist or is dead. This theology is directly opposed to Elizer Berkovits who states that God’s existence is proven because of the Holocaust. Academically Rubenstein has a stronger argument than Berkovits.
According to Elizer Berkovits, the Holocaust is not historically unique; it is only unique in its magnitude. Berkovits does not believe that it is historically unique because Jews have often been persecuted throughout history and the Holocaust is just another instance of persecution. Berkovits states that the Holocaust proves the existence of God. He says that since God did not act and stop the Holocaust then the existence of God must be true. In order to understand his reasoning one must first understand the Free Will Defense.
The Free Will Defense says that humans have freewill so God is exempt from blame for evil. This theodicy also states that since humans have free will, God does not interfere in the world. To understand this theodicy better one can image God as being a clockmaker, who set the world in motion and then stepped away from it to watch it run. Berkovits believes that during the Holocaust God had to hide from himself so he would not interfere with human free will. Berkovits summarizes his theology by stating that the hiding of God, proves God’s existence. One may raise the question; if God is going to hide and not interfere in the world what is the purpose of praying to him? This theology is often criticized for being considered a catch twenty-two. By not interfering with the Holocaust God p...