The Rebbe’s Letter to the Activist Trying to Return the Seforim

The Inside Story of Chabad in America — Episode 27: "The Rebbe's Letter to the Activist Trying to Return the Seforim"

Welcome to our weekly program, The Inside Story of Chabad in America through the Mindel Archives.

A few weeks ago we spoke about the shlichus in 1988, when the Rebbe sent three shluchim to Russia to bring back the sforim — the Frierdiker Rebbe's sforim — back here to America. Rabbi Mindel came back before Yud Shevat, and we mentioned that he had a yechidus with the Rebbe for a long time, and also that he gave the Rebbe the report — the duch, his duch — and also the other shliach's duch. The Rebbe answered, and we are going to discuss this another time, the duch and the yechidus. But today we are going to speak about a letter that the Rebbe wrote to someone who volunteered to go bring the sforim. The duch and the yechidus of Rabbi Mindel we will leave for another time.

But before this, I want to mention that it says in Parshas Vayechi that before Yaakov Avinu passed away, before he was niftar, Yaakov called over his children and said to them, "Come together, all of you, I will tell you — we will speak about Moshiach, what is going to be when Moshiach comes." Why did he want to do that? Because the children of Yaakov were all tzaddikim — they didn't have a cheit, they didn't have a sin; there is no ches and tes in the names of the shevatim. So when he saw that there was no ches and tes, he wanted to speak about Moshiach. But then the Shechinah was taken away from him. So the other pasuk says: come together, you are tzaddikim, but you are missing one thing — there is no unity, there is no achdus. So he couldn't tell them about Moshiach.

He said to them — it says Yaakov and Yisroel; this is one person. Yaakov Avinu is sometimes called Yaakov, sometimes Yisroel. Yidden are sometimes called Yaakov, and some Yidden are called Yisroel. "Yaakov" comes from the word eikev, which is the heel, the lower part. Some Yidden are on a lower level; some Yidden are on the level of Yisroel, the higher level. "Come together, be united" — this is the most important thing. The Yidden should be together, the Yidden should be united. That's why it says Bnei Yaakov and Bnei Yisroel.

So this is what the Torah says. Now, the Rebbe writes in a letter something very important, and this letter was to a shliach from years back. In order for the shlichus to be successful, people have to be united. People have to be makir mekomo — they have to recognize their place. And he mentions that if a foot wants to be a head, and a head wants to be a foot, this will not be a hatzlacha. Yaakov Avinu couldn't speak about the geulah because there was no achdus Yisroel. And this is what he was saying to the shliach.

So when we go to do shlichus for the Rebbe — whether it's any shlichus, whether to bring the sforim from Russia or anything else — it has to be ish echad b'lev echad, one person with one heart, not one body with two heads. This will not be successful.

So I'm going to read now a letter that the Rebbe wrote to this person who volunteered to rescue the sforim. But before that, I just want to say that this letter is very hard to read because it's an old letter. It was written in the 1970s. The Rebbe wrote this — the Rebbe asked Rabbi Mindel to prepare this letter — and it is on onionskin paper, so it's not easy to read, but I'll try my best to read it, to show how the Rebbe felt about the sforim that were in Russia. This letter has four pages, but I will not read all four pages — I'll just read a few paragraphs from this letter to show how important it is to bring back the sforim.

Now, this person who went to Russia had to discuss with Rabbi Mindel, and maybe other people, how to proceed. I think the Rebbe mentioned to him that Rabbi Mindel knows the mentality of the Russians — he lived in Russia — so he should speak with him in order to have hatzlacha. He should always speak with him, and he did. He spoke with him, and he spoke with other people, and even though this person was a great man, he spoke with others because this is the best way — when you work together. And this is how he proceeded.

So I just want to read the letter that the Rebbe wrote to him. I hope I will be able to read it correctly.

"I refer, of course, to your noble endeavor in the matter of restitution of the books and manuscripts that belong to the library of my predecessor, my father-in-law, of saintly memory, which you initiated with the help of friends and have already had considerable success in regard to a substantial part of them, having them restored to their rightful place and home.

"As you know, the unique Schneerson Library included not only a valuable collection which my saintly father-in-law had acquired personally during his lifetime, but also many rare books and manuscripts that were the legacy of his saintly forebears, going back to the Alter Rebbe, founder of Chabad. There is surely no need to elaborate on what these books and manuscripts meant to him, as to all the Lubavitcher Rebbeim before him. He had a very special, profound, and soulful attachment to them, over and above his attachment to books and manuscripts of similar sacred content, for many of them were precious heirlooms for generations — in part authored by saintly forebears, my predecessors, and studied by them — representing the heart and soul of the sacred Chabad literature, which is part of our Torah, Toras Emes and Toras Chaim, by which we live.

"You can therefore well understand how deeply moved I was and will always be by your great and noble endeavor in volunteering your time and effort and prestige to bring home the sacred books and manuscripts. It is truly a case of Pidyon Shvuyim, since only by being at home can these spiritual treasures resume their full vitality and usefulness, not only for the benefit of those who are directly associated with the Chabad Lubavitch movement, but also for the benefit of all our Jewish people, through the dissemination of the teachings of Chabad Chassidus, which has been termed the soul of the Torah, Nishmasa D'Oraysa, and the intimate link between the soul of our people and our Father in Heaven.

"If the reward of a mitzvah is the mitzvah itself and requires no human thank-you, your noble endeavor clearly transcends any expression of gratitude. Nevertheless, I am impelled to express, however inadequately, on my own behalf and on behalf of the movement which I am privileged to head, as well as on behalf of all who have an actual or potential stake in the matter, our boundless gratification and heartfelt appreciation."

Now, the Rebbe writes further — I'm not going to read the other paragraphs where the Rebbe goes into Chassidus — but I will read this paragraph:

"Applying the above principle to our case: books and manuscripts of the most sublime content, written by Jews whose whole life was dedicated to Torah and the Jewish people, and studied with heart and soul, enriching and illuminating Jewish life — clearly these books and manuscripts, albeit material, are imbued with eternal light and life of the highest order. Thus, when they are taken from their natural environment, from their very home, they are indeed in exile and captivity, however well treated. They are, in a real sense, like people held in captivity who can never be happy, even if well provided for with their material and even spiritual needs, for they long to return home, to be united with their family and friends and their whole environment.

"This is why Pidyon Shvuyim in the ordinary sense is such a great mitzvah. Hence it is impossible to overstate the great zechus that you and your associates have in this endeavor — the Pidyon Shvuyim of these books and manuscripts."

And I'm going to read one more paragraph:

"I am pleased about the timing of this letter, on the eve of your departure on the second stage of your endeavor to return a further substantial part of the books and manuscripts that are still in exile. I trust and am confident that you will not encounter any difficulties, since you will be dealing with fellow Jewish children of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, especially those whom Divine Providence has privileged to be custodians of these books and manuscripts, after they had been taken during the war and the Holocaust, miraculously survived, until they finally came under the custody of the present guardians, in order to be restored to their rightful owners and rightful home, in the true sense of V'shavu Banim Ligvulam. Indeed, the zechus of having taken good care of them in the interim will stand them in good stead and make them even more responsive to their pleasant duty, in the joyful realization that they can now complete their own task of guardianship."

And this is the letter that the Rebbe wrote to him. We see how much zechus — how much care — the Rebbe put into these manuscripts, how important it was to the Rebbe. And when a person goes on shlichus and discusses with other people, like ish echad b'lev echad, then they have hatzlacha.

And b'ezras Hashem, we will continue next week our program.