The Hidden Hand - The Holocaust

This book tells the history of the Holocaust from an unusual perspective, with an eye toward discerning the hand of Hashem in the events that took place. Yaakov Astor shows that Hashem s guiding hand in history, while often not obvious, and all the less so in the unfathomable tragedies of the Holocaust, is there to be found nonetheless. The tragedies and triumphs of the Jewish people are not isolated events but part of a continuum, with every detail orchestrated by Hashem for our ultimate benefit. The Holocaust deserves to be studied in this manner, no less than the rest of Jewish history, because many priceless Torah messages are hidden within the events of this cataclysmic era.

In this age of media overload -- which only serves to obscure the presence of Hashem in our lives -- this book offers a deep, insightful approach to thinking about the Holocaust that will leave you forever changed.

This book will help you discover hashgachah (Divine Providence) in history, even at times when Hashem hid His face from us -- even in the dense darkness that was the Holocaust. Indeed, many survivors, in retelling their stories, have expressed the conviction that Hashem was watching over them. These countless stories certainly testify to Hashem s presence on the microcosmic level of individual lives, but the goal of this book is to demonstrate Hashem s hand in the larger, global events of the Holocaust. From Hitler s rise to his demise -- including the war he waged against the Jews and the Allied military campaigns waged against him -- Hashem s hidden hand can be discerned, if only we open our eyes to see.