The Hidden Hand: Uncovering Divine Providence in Major Events of the 20th Century

by Yaakov Astor

Did you know ...
... that on D-Day -- the decisive day of battle in World War II -- Hitler overslept?
... that a few stray bombs led to Germany's defeat in the Battle of Britain?
... that the Watergate scandal saved Israel during the Yom Kippur War?
... that a misstatement by a government official caused the collapse of the Berlin Wall?

These and many other bizarre "coincidences" of history are the subject of this book.

This is not a Jewish history book. It is a book about history -- specifically, 20th century history -- from a Torah-based, Jewish perspective. Yaakov Astor reveals the hidden hand of Hashem in many of the remarkable "twists of fate" of 20th century history, while also shedding light on some of the valuable Torah messages we can derive from studying it. In this era of media overload -- which only obscures the presence of Hashem in our lives -- this book offers a fascinating, insightful approach to viewing both historical and current events from a proper Torah perspective. It's a real eye-opener, and a captivating read!

"By examining his past history, every person can discover a great network of intricate plan and purpose, which makes him aware of Hashem's constant guidance of the individual's footsteps. By examining the events of Mankind's history, one becomes aware of Hashem's guidance of the affairs of nations."
-- Rabbi Avigdor Miller

The media barrage in the world today is relentless. This Information Age in which we live has created a situation where we're never more than minutes away from the latest news. But the way all that information is presented to us -- that's where it gets tricky. It's clear that the secular media not only doesn't believe in Hashem, but that, by and large, they are anti-religious. That reality deeply colors the information they feed us.

We know the truth, though. The things that happen to us individually -- and all the more so the events that affect communities, countries and entire continents -- are anything but random. As Rabbi Miller emphasizes, there is a Director guiding all events, large and small. We just need to train ourselves to detect His "hidden hand."

This book is an essential key to getting that training. But be warned -- the perspectives it offers will open your eyes and heart in ways you never imagined.

Genres: History

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 16, 2011

Reviews

[Oriyah N · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept for this book very much appealed to me. Although I'm not a history buff (history in school was sadly always presented as a list of dates of wars rather than the story of the lives of people in times past) the idea of searching for G-d's hand in seemingly mundane historical events seems like a good training exercise (isn't that what I'm striving for in my own daily life?) and surprisingly, the book didn't just include "wow-everything worked out great, G-d must have been behind that" simplicity but spoke about both seemingly positive AND negative outcomes, as well as 'coincidences' that one can learn from on a practical level.

I have to take a moment here to rave about the book design. The person (people?) who designed this book is BRILLIANT. The layout, the fonts, the pictures, the vellum dust-jacket, all supremely well done.

The book was unintimidating and mostly interesting, and did do what it set out to, but I kind of felt like the author is very into historical facts and Judaism, and decided to write a book to satisfy his own love of the 2 by bringing them together in this volume. Conceptually this is nice, but in reading, it seemed that the author's gratification took precedence over a clean presentation for the reader. The book was organized with each chapter covering a different historical event. Each chapter starts by giving the historical context and describing the historical event of focus, and then goes on to explain where one might be able to see G-d's hand in the happenings in and surrounding that event. If each chapter stopped here, that would be great. But then, each chapter went on to include a list of facts about that historical event, which didn't really add anything to the topic of the book. I understand that there are schools who use this book as a text for teaching history, which I fully support (despite the book's organization being non-chronological), but first and foremost, this is NOT a textbook. If the author wanted his readers to know these facts, then they he should have included them in the narrative section of the chapter, integrating them into the description of the historical event, rather than sticking them in as a list at the end.

Despite my criticism I very much feel this is a book worth reading, as it puts a different spin on events we might otherwise not view with as much depth.

[Sophie Amalya · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's something so special about reading a book when you know it has something behind it which makes it mean that much more to you 💗

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've shelved this as "Christian" since that is the point of view from which this book has meaning for me. It's actually a Jewish book. The focus is on events effecting the Jewish people, and Isreal. The author is Jewish, as is clearly the primary intended audience. However the overall premise - that God is in control over all human events - is one in which Judaism and Christianity is in agreement.

I liked this book, it's good to have reminders that God is in control, and I certain do think he's right in assigning certain "coincidences" to the direct work of God. I don't agree everything - but overall good food for thought, and perspective, that God ultimately is in control.