Book 2: Triumph Over Adversity

By Rabbi A. Leib Scheinbaum

With its scrupulous attention to historical accuracy, its profound understanding of Torah hashkafah, and its magnificent collection of photographs, The World That Was series has been hailed worldwide for offering readers a fascinating, Torah-oriented perspective on history.

In the first volume of The World That Was Eretz Yisrael, we traveled through two millennia, from the Churban through the beginning of the twentieth century. This second volume picks up where its predecessor left off. Intrepid settlers have come to develop the land and establish new settlements. Though many had unfortunately loosened their ties to Torah, others arrived and laid the foundation for the burgeoning of Torah learning that we experience to this very day.

The story of the resurgence of Torah and of settlement in Eretz Yisrael is a remarkable — and sometimes even miraculous — one, peopled by unforgettable, idealistic Jews. We will see them establishing yeshivos and Bais Yaakovs, kollelim, Chassidic courts and Torah communities, amid the backdrop of constant challenge and sacrifice. We will marvel over their resilience, determination, and incomparable sense of achrayus for their people, and we will understand our own world better as we see them building Hashem’s beautiful, holy land.