Halacha:

Mekorot / Responsa Literature 

History:

20th Century CE 

Holidays:

Yom Hashoah 

Description

[The class was for foreigners, and should be heard on hi speed]One of the most interesting aspects of the Holocaust and its documentation, is the halachic responsa (She'elot u'Tshuvot) which were written in "real time" showing what life was really like in the ghetto. HaRav Efraim Oshri was a young member of the Beit Din of Kovno during the Shoah, and he wrote, saved and eventually published Shu"t Mima'amakim, several volumes of responsa, from that hellish period. More interesting than the answers (usually: "saving life supersedes..."), are the questions which show how even under the most dire circumstances, the halacha preoccupied the hearts and souls of so many Jews. This is an important example of the specialness of Yisrael & her zchuyot