ספר בינת נבונים

The introduction (pp. 1-16) contains a memoir by Rabinowicz (1914-1997), the hasidic rebbe of Munkács (now Mukacheve, Ukraine), relating his experiences in the Holocaust. Due to his Polish origins, he was expelled by the Hungarian occupation authorities to Poland in 1941, but he secretly returned to his home. He then fled to Budapest; his family followed later. In Budapest, Rabinowicz helped many Jewish refugees from Poland obtain false documents, thereby saving their lives. He also managed to obtain visas for himself and his family; in February 1944 they left for Eretz Israel. The book discusses, inter alia, antisemitism throughout the ages and the Holocaust. Rabinowicz states that antisemitism cannot be understood, since it is irrational. The suffering during the Holocaust, which he sees as "yisurin shel ahavah" (torments of love [for God]), is also not understandable. The suffering provided an opportunity for Jews to come closer to God, but many Jews despaired and felt that they had been abandoned by God. Contends that Jews can feel close to God even in times of suffering, just knowing that He is there. (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)