In the Rebbe’s words, “as regards the awful events of the last generation [i.e., the Holocaust], it is clear and obvious (barur ve-pashut) that they did not come as punishment.”22 He returned to this issue again: “To say that those very people were deserving of what transpired, that it was a punishment for their sins, heaven forbid, is unthinkable. There is absolutely no explanation or understanding for the Holocaust. . . . Certainly not the explanation of a judgment and punishment.
