Note: The 12th of Tammuz is the anniversary of the liberation of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn from his exile in Soviet Russia in 1927. The Rebbe was arrested in June of that year by agents of the Yevsektzia (the "Jewish Section" of the Communist party) and the GPU (forerunner of the KGB) because of his work to preserve Judaism throughout the Soviet Empire. The Rebbe was sentenced to death, for his "counter-revolutionary" activities, but a miraculous confluence of events forced the Soviets to commute it, and then to release him altogether.
The full account of the Rebbe's arrest and liberation can be found here.
The following is a translation of an excerpt from the Rebbe's diary (written several months before his arrest and printed as an appendix to "The Heroic Struggle"), in which he describes how (on an earlier occasion) he was saved by Divine Providence from the hands of four GPU thugs. While traveling by train to Moscow, in order to meet with various Rabbis and philanthropists to plan and budget further efforts for the upkeep of Yidishkeit in the face of soviet oppression, the Rebbe happened to meet a high ranking member of the Soviet Secret Police through whom his salvation would be effected mere days later.
While documenting the efforts of the Rebbe Rashab to provide Matzah for Jewish Soldiers in the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905), we came a across an interesting letter, dealing with the role of Toimchei Temimim in this area. In this letter the Rebbe Rashab replies to a suggestion made by his son and successor, Rabbi Yosef Yitchok, that the offices of Toimchei Temimim be utilized in the efforts to gain support. In reply, the Rebbe Rashab sets out to explain the purpose for which Toimchei Temimim was founded, and clearly defines the limitations of its field of activity. As we will demonstrate, this letter is not merely of localized significance, but rather carries multifaceted ramifications that are relevant to this day.
Writing from Petersburg on the 18th of Teves 5665 (1905), the Rebbe Rashab briefly summarizes the general situation relating to the efforts to acquire government approval, before continuing:
Your proposal in this regard that the letters should be sent from Toimchai Temimim, doesn’t resonate with me and I don’t advise it all… This is a matter that relates to the individual and doesn’t enter into [the agenda of] a general matter such as Toimchai Temimim and the like…
The primary underlying purpose of Toimchei Temimim is to fortify the youngsters and guard them from any damaging entity… with G-d’s help, to plant within in them fear of G-d and love of G-d. Similarly in any place [not only within the established Yeshives of Toimchai Temimim] where they [the faculty of Toimchei Temimim] have the ability to strengthen hands [that are] weak in Torah and service [of Hashem], for instance to establish shuirim to learn with the youngsters in the villages… too draw them to Torah and to try and plant fear of heaven in their hearts, that they will separate themselves from forbidden things, and desire to fulfill Mitzves in practice. This is the certified purpose of Toimchei Temimim.
However its purpose is not to worry about the fulfillment of specific Mitzves or [to] guard against specific things, for instance its [Toimchei Temimim’s] purpose is not to ensure that there should be supervisors on the Kashrus of meat (which is one of the issues which are extremely pressing… and if we had a “committee for the strengthening of Yidishkeit” this would be one of its primary functions…) Similarly regarding the keeping of Shabboss and the like, and Sukkah and Lulev etc. Similarly its purpose is not to worry about the matter of the Matzah – it is self understood that each and every Jew, being that he is a Jew, must worry about this, and actively invest effort in this [endeavor] as much as he is able, however this is not the its [Toimchei Temimim’s] purpose and in this matter it [the faculty of Toimchei Temimim] is like each and every private individual of our Jewish brethren.
This letter provides far reaching insight into the problems confronting Russian Jewry at the time and the primary methods which the Rebbe Rashab employed to resolve them. In those days Yidishkiet and the practical observance of Torah and Mitzvos, came under the threat of the increasing influence of the Haskaleh (“enlightenment”) movement in general and various political and Zionistic elements, which promoted a cultural and ideological version of Judaism, rather than Torah true Yiddishkiet. Two possible avenues where open to the leaders of Torah true Jewry at the time, 1) to fight the Haskaleh head on with a campaign promoting Yiddishkiet on a very practical level, encouraging people and helping them to raise their standards of Yiddishkiet, 2) to instill the younger generation with the inspiration and fortitude necessary to withstand the attacks of the Haskalah, motivating hundreds of young men to themselves become proactive bastions for the promotion of Torah true Yidishkeit in whatever the situation and wherever they may be found.
While the first option may yield faster and more visible results, the Rebbe Rashab realized that in the long run the cultural and social appeal of the Haskalah movement would prove more popular than Torah true Yidishkiet. The only real solution would be to deal with the root of the problem, carefully grooming the younger generation to be impervious to the attraction of the Hakalah. In other words, rather than dealing with the issue on an external (and solely practical) level, the Rebbe Rashab set out to create a new type of individual, impervious to any damaging entity and inculcated with a sense of privilege and responsibility to act for the sake of heaven. Individuals, whose very presence in a particular locale would inspire an atmosphere of love and fear of G-d, and automatically encourage the furtherance of Torah true Yidishkeit on all levels. By establishing Toimchei Temimim, the Rebbe ensured that there would always be private individuals who would be ready to dedicate themselves to the needs of Yidden and Yiddishkiet whatever they may be.
The points made above are born out from many sources, however this letter adds an added dimension in that it describes the limitations of Toimchei Temimim’s function as well as its purpose: A clear distinction is made between the general purpose for which Toimchei Temimim was founded – a purpose to which its efforts are to be devoted to exclusively – and specific “projects” – which while worthy of attention in their own right, are not within the field of activities that Toimchei Temimim was set up to attend to. While the faculty are duty-bound as private individuals to invest their efforts in all areas of Yidishkiet without distinction, these activities must remain private and do not enter under the banner of Toimchei Temimim. Furthermore (as explained earlier) the success of Toimchei Temimim would automatically produce a large base of individuals who would themselves be instilled with a sense of duty to invest their efforts in all areas of Yidishkeit without distinction.
Apart from anything else, this letter provides us with important lessons in the conduct of communal affairs: 1) No matter how valid a particular cause, for the sake of efficiency and effectiveness each organization must stick to the particular field it was set up to address. 2) This certainly does not mean that an individual who has already committed himself to the efforts of one organization is relieved of his responsibilities elsewhere. Rather if a new issue presents itself a new committee or organization must be formed to deal with it and it is incumbent on every private individual to consider what he or she can do to further the efforts of that organization. 3) Obviously, no private individual can do everything all at once; one must therefore commit oneself more fully to the area where the individuals particular capabilities can be used to maximum effect and delegate in other areas, offering moral and monetary support according to one’s means.
Indeed, the vast majority of the original Temimim became Rabbonim, Shochtim and Melamdim throughout Russia (and later in America and Eretz Yisroel) who where Moiser Nefesh for Yidishkeit at every level, promoting Chinuch, Mikaveh and Kashrus at a very practical level. When the Friedike Rebbe came to America, his first step was to reestablish Toimchei Temimim. Although he later went on to found Merkoz L’Inyonai Chinuch and other organizations for the promotion of basic Yidishkeit, Toimchei Temimim remained the foundation upon which the future of Lubavitch would be built. To this day, this remains the basic model on which Lubavitch is set up to operate: the Yeshiva system is meant to cultivate and educate its Talmidim to be Temimim. As spelled out in the letter above, the purpose of Toimchei Temimim is (not to send Bochurim on Mivtzoim or to manufacture Shluchim, but) to create Temimim who live with an inner sense of אהבת ה' ותורתו– a sense of the responsibility and privilege of being a Torah and Mitzvah observant Yid. That sense of responsibility and privilege, automatically obligates the individual to invest all his efforts into the furtherance of Yiddishkeit in any way that he is can, helping his fellow Yidden to fulfill the will of Hashem, wherever they be found and whatever their situation.
Perhaps the most striking point which comes across is the simplicity with which the Rebbe Rashab treats the general issue of promoting such basic Mitzves as Kashrus, Shabbos, Sukkah, Lulev and Matzah. This is not in any-way seen as something unique to Chassidim or Lubavitch, but rather the natural responsibility and reaction of any every Torah Jew. In other words, the obligation of a Lubavitcher to be involved in activities referred to today as Mivtzoim should not be seen to stem from his identification with Lubavitch ideology specifically, rather, in this regard a Lubavitcher “is like each and every private individual of our Jewish brethren”. Indeed Mivtzoim was never instituted as an official part of the “curriculum” in Lubavitch Yeshivas, rather each Bochur as an individual takes it upon himself to spend his own free time on Friday afternoon taking care of his obvious responsibility to further the cause of Yidishkeit in whatever way he can.
ויהי רצון שע"י מעשינו ועבודתינו כל משך זמן הגלות נזכה להגאולה האמיתית והשלימה ע"י משיח צדקינו בקרוב ממש!
I came across a free sample edition of the new, beautifully produced and bilingual (Hebrew/English) “Treasures of the Chabad Library” (the full editionis available here for the discounted price of $42.46), although I had a brief look at the book itself when it first came out on Hei Teves, I had not yet had a chance to check out the contents properly.
Of course, we must thank Rabbi Berel Levin, an archivist and historian par-excellence, both for his outstanding authorship of this monumental work and for making this sample available to the public. As an aside, I would like to point out that Rabbi Levin deserves recognition far beyond any that he has received. Apart from his highly acclaimed footnotes to the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aurach and various other bibliographical, Halachic and historical works, he constantly endeavors to provide top quality information and materials to the public free of charge (see here), and I believe that we owe much of what is available on hebrewbooks.org to his collaboration with the hebrewbooks.org team.
The sample editions are available, in Hebrew here and English here.
The volume is a large coffee-table size, printed on good-quality glossy paper and illustrated throughout with beautiful photographs and facsimiles. The introduction constitutes a general description of the Library, detailing the history of its various collections over the past 200 years. A large part of the original Library was repossessed when the Communists came to power in Russia, and languishes to this day in the Moscow archives. Although the iron-curtain has long since been torn down the Seforim of “The Lubavitch Collection” have yet to cross the divide. The various other collections have suffered similar tribulations, cumulating in the famous “Hey-Teves” victory which confirmed the Library as the collective property of Chabad Chassidim. In recent years the Library’s collections have been expanded, a reading room has been opened for researchers and an exhibition has been opened to the public.
The Library Exhibition
The rest of the book is split into various sections with such titles as “Rabbis and the Rabbinate” (which details among other things, aspects of the History of Rabbi Yaakov Ibn Tzur [Yaabetz] Rabbi of Fez and Mekenes, and the correspondence of Rabbi Yitzchok Elchonon Spector, Rabbi of Kovno, Lithuania), “Books and Publishing” (including three letters of Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Kagan, the Chofetz Chaim), “Rare Manuscripts” (including some containing the original handwriting of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero [the RaMaK], the Alter Rebbe, and others containing the Torah insights of Rabbi Yehonason Eibeschutz and Rabbi Akiva Aiger), “Portraits and Photographs” (including portraits of Rabbi Yosef Hatzadik, Son-in-Law of the Nodeh BiYehudah and the Rabbi of Pozen, and Rabbi Akiva Aiger), “Sacred and Historic Objects”, “Engagements and Marriage”, the list goes on…
A manuscript volume containing a commentary on the Zohar by the RaMaK. Attached to the cover is a cutting from the catalog of the dealer who sold the volume to the Rebbe Rashab, on the right side of the cutting the Rebbe Rashab has written in his own hand, “The commentary is from the RaMak of blessed memory, and it seems to be a shorter version of his great work [entitled] Ohr Yakor, and regarding this [the authorship of the manuscript] the author of the catalog erred in his estimations.”
Rabbi Levin and the team at Kehot Publishing have managed to strike a perfect balance, producing a work both popular and scholarly. They have achieved this by limiting the English section to a briefer and more general description of each manuscript, artifact or document, leaving the scholarly minutiae to the Hebrew section. Similarly, the many photographs and facsimiles are featured more prominently and more numerously in the Hebrew section, while the English section acts as a kind of general guide both to the items exhibited and to the scholarly insights provided in the Hebrew section.
Obviously, I can hardly expect to do justice to the comprehensive and well documented history, which Rabbi Levin has succinctly compiles in his seven page introduction and certainly not to the entirety of this wonderfully informative and wide-ranging work. Rabbi Levin’s expert scholarship and discerning judgment, not only in matters of Chabad History but also in matters of general Jewish scholarship, is clearly evident throughout and there are so many items of special interest that I am obliged to advise my readership that they must peruse this highly recommended volume at their own leisure.
An envelope, with the address inscribed in the handwriting of the Rebbe Maharash in Russian
