The Crucial Meetings That Established Chabad in the USA

TASK A: CLEANED TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to our weekly program, The Inside Story of Chabad in America, from the Mindel Archives. Last week we discussed the minutes of the meeting between the Frierdiker Rebbe and Mr. Julius Stillman, Rabbi Mindel, and Mr. Cowen. Now we're going to do the other minutes — the ones that the Frierdiker Rebbe asked Rabbi Mindel to write down, the minutes of this conference. This is a very short one — only one page, really — and then we'll see what happened after the meeting.

The conference at the study of Rabbi Joseph I. Schneersohn, Thursday, June 13th, 1944, 8:30 p.m. Present: Rabbi Joseph I. Schneersohn, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Rabbi Nissan Mindel, Mr. Alexander Cowen, and Mr. Julius Stillman.

The Rebbe welcomes all the members of the conference. [Continuing further in the minutes:] The Rebbe relates that he is aware of Mr. Stillman's strong desire to draw himself into this work; however, the loss of time is truly regrettable — time is the only thing in the world that cannot be retrieved once it is permitted to lapse.

The Rebbe relates that some sages were discussing the question of what constitutes the greatest treasure that man may possess. One of the sages said it is man's brains, another said it is man's heart, but the wisest of the men said that time and courage are the two most priceless possessions of man.

The Rebbe asked Mr. Stillman if he had made himself quite clear to him during the last meeting. Mr. Stillman answered that it was not too difficult for him to repeat the Rebbe's words, since he wished to retain them fully in his mind.

Thereupon the Rebbe relates that he had known Mr. Stillman even before meeting him personally here in the United States — that he had known of him through his correspondence with Mr. Cowen, the revered Mr. Cowen — but that his first meeting with Mr. Stillman was at the Graceland Hotel in New York over three years ago, and that in every detail Mr. Stillman made a strong impression on him. Not by his generous donation, which initially began the Yeshiva fund and showed a fine example to the other donors, but what impressed him most was Mr. Stillman's mind and heart, and most of all his inner self, his feelings. He recognized then that Mr. Stillman is worthy to be his partner in the great educational work which he was destined to do in this country, for which purpose divine providence had brought him to these shores.

However, for certain spiritual reasons he could not reveal to Mr. Stillman the nature of the task which he wished to invest him with, until now. During this year Mr. Stillman participated in the support of the Yeshiva with sizable contributions, but his true spiritual task and soul's mission in life lie in the field of Jewish education, and it is there that he must direct his principal interest and his utmost energies. The reason why it is precisely in this field that his primary task lies belongs to the category of things which he could not reveal to him even privately.

There are certain matters, continued the Rebbe, which have to be done, and there are certain matters which must be done. As to the first, a person endeavors his best to fulfill; but as regards the second, he must fulfill it without fail, and his soul helps him overcome all obstacles. Moreover, the fulfillment of the things which he must do helps him a great deal in the fulfillment of the things which he should have done but which, for various reasons, did not materialize.

To illustrate this point, the Rebbe used the principle of love and kindness in human relationships. It is natural that adults should love a child, and the prosperous should help the needy — no special effort should be required to perform these simple acts of love and kindness. However, in the case of an emergency, such as a shipwreck at sea, people find themselves capable of performing acts of selflessness which they never suspected they could; in such cases, people give their very lives to save others. Thus every person has latent spiritual powers in addition to the qualities which he and others are aware of; when these hidden qualities are brought into effect, the known qualities are also greatly enhanced thereby.

Now, this is the letter — this is the minutes of the meeting that they had. Now I want to say something here. Mr. Stillman — in 1986 he was in my house; he used to visit pretty often, and I used to visit him often in his office. He was telling us — about four o'clock in the afternoon, his children [or: my children] came home from school running. So he asked them, "Where are you going?" They said they were going to the bathroom. He said, "Why are you running? Isn't there a bathroom in your school?" So they told him that the bathroom in the school is in the basement — it's cold, it's dark, it's wet. This was at Beis Rivkah [?], and they would run [to avoid it]. He didn't know about the bathroom, so he asked me. He said, "I don't understand what's happening in the schools." I said that the school needs to move, but there's no money — there's no money in the schools. They were trying to raise money, but I don't know exactly — there's no money, so that's why the school was still there.

He said, "Come to my office." So the next morning I came to Mr. Stillman's office. He sat down with me and he wrote out checks. Here are the checks: one hundred and forty thousand, a hundred thousand, a hundred thousand, [amount unclear], twenty to thirty thousand, sixty thousand, a thousand, fifty thousand, one hundred thousand — quite a few checks. Of course he didn't give me all of them — he gave me only some, to give to Rabbi Mindel. And he wrote a letter — here is the letter, with his signature:

"Dear Reb Mindel, as you know, my contributions to Beis Rivkah [?] have been made from the start subject to certain specified conditions, which I have clearly spelled out to you. I am sending you this note to reaffirm that these conditions are still in place and are not to be changed under any circumstances. Number one — the two most basic conditions are: my contributions are to be kept in a separate, special bank account over which you have sole control. And number two: disbursements from these accounts should be made at such times and in such amounts as you see fit, entirely at your own discretion. It is my hope that these contributions will stimulate others, to the extent of tripling them."

So his will was that Rabbi Mindel should [administer the funds], because he had been at the meeting where the Rebbe spoke about the girls' school, so he felt Rabbi Mindel was trustworthy [?], and he wanted to give money [to the school].

Now, much has happened since then. Unfortunately, it was not managed the way it should have been, and sadly, till today, the girls are suffering. Beis Rivkah of North America is excellent — the teachers [unclear] — some of them didn't get paid. Beis Rivkah [unclear] throughout the world, but Beis Rivkah, from the time it started, I don't know why — there was Rabbi Jacobs [?], our Rabbi Levi [?] — [name unclear] was the principal then, and before that, Rabbi Golden [?] — and there is a problem with the management. And yet I have to tell you this, because this is all from what the Rebbe wanted at the meeting — that he should give a lot to the girls' school.

Now I want to say — I think from all the letters [it is clear that] Beis Rivkah is under Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch; we know that means that they have to take responsibility — they're responsible for the kashrus, and I guess also for the [curriculum, unclear] — but the Rebbe's brocha [?] — [unclear] — but the [administration, unclear] they have to do, and that's why, unfortunately, there are problems with managing, and the teachers should be paid, and [the school] has to be [run properly, unclear].

Now we hope and pray that, since we're almost by [unclear], the time of [unclear] — we have to put away all the politics and do what the Rebbe wanted, and [please G-d] Beis Rivkah will be successful. Beis Rivkah needs even more [support], and of course Beis Rivkah [unclear], and we should see her [renewed] very soon. We need a new building, a new [unclear], and that we should go out of golus [unclear].

Now — we may not reveal more. The topic will continue next week on our weekly program.