Even if all the land would be parchment, and the trees, quills, and the sea, ink, it still would not be possible to fully describe and document the depth of the tragedy that struck our nation with the Holocaust, in which six million Jews perished, Hy”d. It is not merely a number; it is six million individual worlds.
We know clearly that Hashem ordains each individual detail of every single happening. If Hashem had not granted permission to the Destroyer, it could not have harmed the Jewish nation. And we are ma’aminim, believing that every single occurrence stems from Hashem’s compassion for us, because there is no compassion like that of a father to his son, as we say, Anu banecha v’Atah Avinu, We are Your sons, and You are our Father.
Gedolei Yisrael explained this concept with a parable.
An observer stands next to a tailor and watches his every move as he cuts an expensive piece of fabric. As he sees the beautiful fabric slashed into many smaller pieces, he cries out in alarm, “How can you destroy such exquisite fabric so mercilessly?” The tailor patiently explains that only by cutting the material into fragments can it be sewn into a suit.
So too, as difficult as it is for us to understand, the Holocaust is part of the process to the Geulah. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to remember the generation that perished al kiddush Hashem — whose death brought the Redemption ever closer — until we merit the complete Geulah, which is drawing closer. May we see it arrive speedily in our times!
