Gog and Magog–If you want it, it’s yours!
Rav Mordechai Eliyahu ztz”l used to say that the Holocaust was the War of Gog and Magog, as it is written in the Gemara that the Holy One Blessed Be He could consider Hezkiya to be Mashiach and Sancheriv as Gog and Magog, but the sin caused this not to be so (Sanhedrin 94).
If so, it’s possible to consider the Holocaust as the war of Gog and Magog. We have suffered enough.
Rav Eliyahu related that someone argued on his view and said that his words were not correct and that the War of Gog and Magog will be coming in the future, and he brought all types of proofs that it had not yet occurred.
The Rav told him: “Whoever thinks that there needs to be a War of Gog and Magog will be in this war, while those who hold that it has occurred already will be exempt from it.”
– From the book Besha’ar Hamelech
source: yeranenyaakov
The Lubavitcher Rebbe and Rav Mordechai Eliyahu
January 1, 2013 at 8:40 pm
You need to understand HaRav Eliyahu’s ztvk”l comments not only in the context in which they were said, but especially in light of what his intent was. The Rav ztvk”l was extremely aware of the power of words and of the concept “Tzadik gozair v’HaShem mikayaim” (a Tzadik decrees and HaShem fulfills). The Rav chose not to declare that more sufferring is in store for Am Yisrael, so he assigned Gog and Magog to a past event (Think: Tzadik Gozair..etc). He chose to declare that the massive time of suffereing was over, and to instead focus on bringing the Am back to HaShem through ahava. That was his way. His way was always to try to mitigate midat HaDin for Am Yisrael, to advocate for the Am, and to bring the Am to tshuva through Ahava– and in that way to avert negative judgment on the Am. His intent was to declare in favor of Am Yisrael.His intent was ALWAYS to sweeten judgement for Am Yisrael. His words should not be used to exempt ourselves from the tshuva that is needed now in a very big and compelling way by all of the Am.