RESPONSA OF THE HOLOCAUST: A GROUND-BREAKING CD
Netivei Ha-Halacha Institute, a Torah research initiative operating in Gush Etzion for the past 14 years, has undertaken to rescue hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Holocaust Halachic responsa from oblivion, making them available to the scholarly world and to the general public.
These riveting documents, penned during the awesome Holocaust years, perpetuate the momentous challenges and ethical-religious dilemmas faced by Jews in the shadow of looming destruction.
- May I save myself by assuming the identity of a Catholic?
- Is it permissible to flee from a concentration camp, knowing that the remaining prisoners will suffer reprisals?
These are mere examples the wrenching issues that plagued those caught in the throes of the Holocaust. The Holocaust CD documents the spiritual leadership of the rabbis who rose to the challenge. Laymen and leadership alike emerge in all their courage, wisdom, and moral sensitivity.
In an age of increasing Holocaust-denial, the preservation of this heritage is our generation’s imperative. Netivei Ha-Halacha Institute finds and assembles this priceless correspondence from hundreds of scattered books and periodicals, virtually inaccessible to the public, and packages them in a user-friendly format. The software allows the user to search the data-base by topic, sub-topic, word-search, author, date, or geographic locale. Each responsum is also cross-referenced to the Shulchan Aruch – the Code of Jewish law. To enhance the understanding of the responsa, the CD includes an index of authors’ biographies and of historical place-descriptions. These can be accessed in both Hebrew and English.
Versions 1 and 2 have already proven to be an invaluable tool for researchers, rabbis, students and educators. The CD has been favorably reviewed, and has won the acclaim of people such as Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, chairman of Yad Vashem, and Prof. Dan Michman, historian and Holocaust expert. With the approval of Education Ministry supervisors, the CD is utilized in many Holocaust education programs on the high school level.
The quality and importance of this project have also been recognized by the Claims Committee and by the Culture Department of the Education and Science Ministries, who contributed to its funding.
Our Institute needs funding to continue its vital double program:
1. Holocaust Research - Continue to locate responsa that deal with the Holocaust, produce Version 3 of the Holocaust Responsa CD, and publish it also via the internet.
2. Holocaust Education – Maintain and expand our program of lecture-demonstrations for educators and students on Holocaust issues based on the CD.
| Anticipated Costs |
| Production of Holocaust Responsa CD version 3 |
$220,000 |
| Internet publication of Holocaust Responsa CD |
$150,000 |
| Distribution and marketing of
Holocaust Responsa CD version 2 |
$35,000 |
| Teachers’ guides for Holocaust education
in conjunction with the Responsa CD |
$12,000 |
Tax deductible donations in the USA available through the Gush Etzion Foundation
For more information please contact us at:
gushezif@inter.net.il or at 1-860-906104
The Gush Etzion Foundation
POB 1030
Manchester NH 03105
The CD can be purchased for 110$, including shipping
