What the Rebbe Wrote After Rebbetzin’s Passing

Welcome to our weekly program, the inside story of Chabad in America through the Mindel archives.

We are now a couple of weeks away from Yud Alef Nissan, the birthday of our Rebbe. Last week we read Perek Kuf-Chof of Tehillim, as we spoke about last week — that when a person becomes a certain age, he always says the perek that corresponds to that age. Since the Rebbe is becoming 120, we say this perek, and that's what we learned last week.

The Torah says a person's life is a hundred and twenty years. When Moshe Rabbeinu became 120, he left a will — a tzavaah. It wasn't a written tzavaah, it was an oral tzavaah. He blessed the children. Yaakov Avinu, before he passed away, by Vayechi, he also left — that's a vort. So we said last week, because the Rebbe is mashpia even [after passing] — usually after a person passes away we don't say that they "left" [a will], but by a tzaddik, because his hashpaah comes down even afterwards.

So today I want to read to you that which he asked us to write down. I'll explain to you soon.

Now let me read it from inside here. The Rebbe called into his room Rabbi Mindel, Rabbi Chadakov, and Rabbi Piekarski in 1988. After he called them into his room, the Rebbe asked Rabbi Mindel to write down what he was going to say, and he wrote it down — that one I'm not going to read today; I'm going to read the other one. A second time, on Tuesday, the 17th day of Elul, he called them in again and he told them his last will and testament, and Rabbi Mindel wrote it down in Hebrew, and the Rebbe also said that he should translate it into English. So I'm going to read the English one. It's almost — the Hebrew is probably more accurate, but it's almost the same — in English.

Rabbi Chadakov made notations. I have heard the notations — [unclear] — unfortunately most of them are [unclear], and whoever the names are, whenever he's here, besides. Since it's 120 years of the Rebbe, we read Perek Kuf-Chof.

So I'm going to now read this document. I'm reading it from the English one — the English that was translated from the Hebrew. Most of the people know this, but some don't, so this is for the people that never heard of it.

**Last Will and Testament of Menachem Mendel Schneerson**

We, the undersigned rabbis, do hereby testify that on the third day of the week, the 17th day of the month of Elul, in the year 5748 according to the Hebrew calendar, corresponding to Tuesday, August 30, 1988, we were requested to appear before His Eminence the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel, son of the late Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Schneerson, residing at 1304 President Street, Brooklyn, New York 11213, for the purpose of his making his last will and testament. We found the above-named testator of sound and disposing mind and memory, not under influence or stress of any kind, and completely competent to make a will, and the testator did make and constitute the following to be his last will and testament, thereby revoking any and all other wills by him heretofore made, declaring as follows:

It is considered auspicious at this time to make a will. I have invited the three of you — first and foremost, Rabbi Chadakov and Nissan Mindel, since you were among the first persons whom my saintly father-in-law, the Rebbe, had made his closest associates in his work ever since he came to the United States, bringing you over with him, and he invested you with the chief tasks and responsibilities in the administration of his newly founded organizations, Merkos, and you have continued to serve in this capacity to this day. And with you I have invited Rabbi Yisroel Yitzchok Piekarski, Dean of Central Lubavitcher Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim, for the purpose of making my last will and testament in the presence of the three of you, as follows:

Number one: I desire and direct that all affairs of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, including all institutions, activities, programs, and so forth, continue to operate and function after my demise as they have functioned heretofore, in accordance with established custom and practice that have been in place over many years.

Number two: Inasmuch as my saintly father-in-law, the Rebbe, ever since he came to the United States, channeled most of his public activities through the two chief organizations which he founded here, namely Merkos, with all its departments and branches, and inasmuch as upon succeeding my saintly father-in-law, the Rebbe, as head of the Chabad movement, I continued in this way, I desire and direct that the same procedure be continued after my demise, with the additional proviso, however, which I deemed necessary to implement in recent years — namely, the renewal and reactivation of Agudas Chasidei Chabad as the third main body, which, together with the aforementioned two chief organizations, Merkos [and Kehot], would constitute the three central pillars of the Chabad Lubavitch movement through which its worldwide activities are conducted. Hence it is my desire and directive that no change be made in this established order and procedure.

[Here there was something crossed out.]

The above-stated directive, that no change be made in the administration of the said organizations, refers only to those executives who have been serving in their executive capacity for at least a period of three years.

And then the Rebbe names who should be on Merkos — which I'm not going to name — and Rabbi Chadakov also wrote notations here as to who is going to be on [Agudas Chasidei Chabad (?)], with the notation of Rabbi Chadakov.

With regard to Maamad funds donated to the Rebbe's discretion: it was the practice of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, to divide the Maamad funds into three parts and turn them over, respectively — a special fund which is one of the departments of Machne Israel. I too follow this established practice. It is my desire and directive that this practice be followed also posthumously, namely that all contributions to Maamad be divided into three parts, for Merkos [and the others] respectively.

Although it is my intent and confident hope that all the above directives will leave no room for any doubts and the like, yet in the event that there might nevertheless arise some doubts in regard to any matter or details, I hereby empower Rabbi Chadakov, Nissan Mindel, and Rabbi Piekarski to determine and resolve the point in question absolutely, and so be it.

I hereby appoint Rabbi Chadakov, Nissan Mindel, and Israel Yitzchok Piekarski as executors of this, my will.

This is the whole document.

This is a translation from the Hebrew. Now, there was an English will before this one that the Rebbe had signed, but that will was more for the government — it was for his physical, material assets. That was the gashmiyus'dike will. But this, we can see, is the more authentic will — this is a ruchniyus'dike will, and this is different, tzaddik [?].

When the Rebbe called them in twice — once in Sivan and once in Elul — he spoke, and the Rebbe asked him to write it down, and the Rebbe wanted it also in English. The other one he didn't have [in that form], because that was for the government. So this is the authentic will that the Rebbe wanted it to be, because this is talking about Maamad, so I thought I would read this will now.

Next week I want to read to you what the Rebbe wrote — the first letter after he became Rebbe — to someone, and he said that the Previous Rebbe, the Frierdiker Rebbe, left him a will — told him a will, not a written one, a told will — he told him. And to this other person that he wrote, it's pretty interesting, and that I will read, b'ezras Hashem, next week. Thank you.