The Telegram Sent After the Six Day War

The Inside Story of Chabad in America Through the Mindel Archives

Welcome to our weekly program, The Inside Story of Chabad in America Through the Mindel Archives. Tomorrow is Erev Shavuos, so I want to share with you a telegram — the Rebbe used to send Western Union telegrams to many people, before Yom Tov, especially I think before Shavuos. So here I have the original telegram that the Rebbe sent right after the Six Day War to President [Zalman] Shazar.

And the Rebbe writes here — the telegram is written in English letters, but it's Hebrew words. The Rebbe writes like this. Attached to this there was another telegram. I don't know what connection this has, but it was together here, and I know that when Rabbi Mindel put things together in one pile, there was usually a connection. I don't know why, but it was also after the Six Day War, to Chief Rabbi Medallia [?] in Antwerp.

And the Rebbe writes here, also in English letters: "In answer to your letter, my mind is clear and certain that there should be a strong decision — that an asifa, a convention or get-together, a meeting of Jews in Rome, is clearly prohibited; how much more so an asifa im manhigim — a convention or meeting where there are rabbanim, manhigim [leaders]." That means that in Rome, the Rebbe did not want any asifas, any conventions, any gathering.

This is a telegram, and there is the signature on this. This was — and the same, and the same as over here — this was also, I think, Reb [?] Schwarz. Now, Schwarz was always — Rabbi Mindel mentioned him when he was with the Rebbe, also with the Frierdiker Rebbe. Schwarz was always, like, by the table upstairs where they ate at 770. The meal was upstairs; there were a lot of miracles, a lot of things happened, and I'll give you an example that Rabbi Mindel wrote down, that he was there.

There was a child — this was by the Frierdiker Rebbe's [table] on Shavuos — he crawled under the table where the Frierdiker Rebbe was sitting, and he was under the table. He was about — I don't know — five years old, six years old, four years old, I'm not sure. And this child was born with a heart problem, or he developed a heart problem; he wasn't well his whole life — I mean, he lived, but he had a heart problem. Anyway, he was under the table, and all of a sudden the Frierdiker Rebbe looks down — what did he do? His shoelace, the Frierdiker Rebbe's shoelace, was untied, so the child saw it, and he went and tried to tie it. He was tying — certainly he couldn't really figure it out — but the Frierdiker Rebbe looked and gave such a smile. Rabbi Mindel says he made [a gesture], "you should live long." So this was a brocha that the Frierdiker Rebbe gave him, and despite his condition he lived, baruch Hashem — [unclear] — but he lived a long time. So this is one thing that happened here.

Another thing he writes here: that on Erev Shavuos, Tof-Shin-Tes [5709], 1949, there was a big chossid, Michoel Dworkin [?], who passed away. On Erev Shavuos — they did not know; I don't think they wanted him to know. But there was a problem with the burial, because — I don't know whether it was a holiday, or they needed a doctor to okay something — it was a big problem; they couldn't bury him, and they weren't going to let the body [wait] three days — which was two days. So they were working hard and they couldn't — or maybe something with the cemetery, I don't know exactly, but there was some issue there. So the Rebbe put in a lot of effort that he should be buried that day. So they needed a doctor, and the Rebbe found the doctor — his name was Dr. Ness [?] — I think, when I was a boy I remember him; he was sitting and learning Gemara — I think he was more a learner than a doctor, but anyway, he was a doctor. So the Rebbe asked him a favor, that he should write whatever he had to write — I don't know what — in order for the burial to be okayed that day, and the Rebbe promised him — "you'll be with me in Gan Eden" — such a promise. So he signed, and everything was arranged. This happened on Erev Shavuos. Now, at the meal on Shavuos night, the Frierdiker Rebbe did ask — I was told, Rabbi Mindel doesn't write this, but I was told — he asked, "Where is he?" And I don't know what they answered him, but they figured out that he's not here anymore. So this is [a story about] Shavuos.

Now here, attached to this, I wanted to read to you another letter before Shavuos. This letter was written by our Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson], while he was in Paris. This letter was written in Yiddish, and he took the paper from the hotel — it has the name of the hotel on it — and he sent it to a Mr. Stillman. We had quite a few programs about Mr. Stillman in an earlier episode. This letter — I have the original here; he gave me the original — Mr. Stillman gave me the original. He sent it to Rabbi Mindel, that he should translate this letter for Mr. Stillman, and I'm going to read soon the translation of what the Rebbe wrote here, that Rabbi Mindel translated.

Now, Mr. Stillman — we all know, we already had programs about him. He sent an affidavit to the Frierdiker Rebbe, to bring him to America in 1940 — very much involved; I mean, there are a lot of stories about him. When the doctors told the Frierdiker Rebbe that he cannot see anybody, he said regarding Mr. Stillman, "Even though the doctor said I cannot see anybody, you I will see." He's the one — if you remember, we spoke about the dinner that they had after a Melaveh Malkah — he was one of the people that stayed, he was the one who gave the first money for the first building [unclear]. He was very close to him. [unclear] He was sitting here; my children came from Church Avenue — they were learning at the public school, they were young, elementary school — and they came running, running to him. So Mr. Stillman asked him, "What are you running for?" So they said, "We have to go to the bathroom." "What do you mean?" He said, "There's no bathroom in school." So they told him that in the school, it's in the basement, not in a good [area], it's wet over there, they didn't want to go, so they're coming here. Mr. Stillman couldn't take it, so he tells him, "Come tomorrow to my office." So I came to his office the next day, and he gave me a few checks, close to half a million dollars, within a few months — and that's only for the new building; that was the first thing that he gave for the new building. Those checks — I still have a copy of those checks. So this is Mr. Stillman — he wanted to be [unclear]. So the Rebbe, our Rebbe, sent him a letter — look, a beautiful handwriting — and he sent it to Rabbi Mindel, and I will read you what the Rebbe wrote. First, what the [cover] letter said that was written to Stillman with this letter:

"Dear Mr. Stillman, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, still in Paris at present, sends you the enclosed letter which he had written just before Shavuos. Translation follows."

Now he's translating the letter:

"I have been delayed in Paris unexpectedly, for a longer period than I had anticipated, hence this letter of Shavuos greetings from this city. I trust that you and all yours are well, and I wish you a happy Yom Tov. It is customary in most Jewish congregations to read the Book of Ruth on the festival of Shavuos. This book tells us the story of Ruth embracing Judaism, and that David, King of Israel, the founder of the Jewish kingdom and author of the Psalms, Tehillim, was a direct descendant of Ruth. Thus she will be the mother also of the greatest of all men, Moshiach, the descendant of David."

Next paragraph, he writes:

"From a giyores, a convert, to Moshiach — the lesson, briefly, is: by accepting the Torah, which is longer than the earth and wider than the ocean, given as it is by G-d, supreme and unfathomable, we receive supernatural powers which are also unlimited. Each one of us can and must" — and the Rebbe underlined "can and must" — "bring forth his potential power into reality, by taking advantage of all the opportunities and possibilities given to him, and thus he will rise steadily from holy to holier, to ever higher planes, thus fulfilling also the inner urge of his soul to carry out its life's mission and to attain its ultimate aim: complete communion with his Creator. Cordial regards and happy Yom Tov."

And the Rebbe signs his name. And then Rabbi Mindel writes: "Rabbi Schneerson is expected to return in the near future. With kindest personal regards." And the Rebbe was held back in Paris, and there was a reason for that, which is written here, but I cannot go into it. So this is the Shavuos letter from the Rebbe.

Now, one more thing I'm going to read to you, and the reason I'm reading it to you is because I found this in the same bundle here. This was from the Frierdiker Rebbe — a letter to a girl, Tof-Shin-Gimmel [5703], 1943 — and Rabbi Mindel translated this, and the Rebbe signed it:

"In reply to your letter, I was pleased to hear that you are a strictly Orthodox girl and want to get married to a strictly Orthodox boy. However, I cannot approve, nor give my blessing, to your proposed marriage, in view of the fact that the boy desecrates the Shabbos, even though unwillingly. A Jew must make every sacrifice for the observance of Shabbos, and when there is truly a will, G-d helps. May G-d grant your chosen one a good heart, to begin to observe the Shabbos, and may He provide him sustenance without the desecration of our religion, like a true Jew. And then I will — I give my blessing that G-d grant you a happy life."

And then the Rebbe concluded, in the last paragraph, that fifty dollars was received — in Tof-Shin-Gimmel, 1943; those days, probably that was like — I don't know, maybe thirty, forty dollars — was received, and I handed it over to the yeshiva [unclear], and here is a receipt that you got. And then the Frierdiker Rebbe signed this letter.

So this I found within here, and this probably has a meaning why it had to be together in this bundle, in this area of Shavuos. So this is what I wanted to share with you before Shavuos. Hopefully we should all have a happy Shavuos — it should be like that. And the Frierdiker Rebbe always said it should be kabolas haTorah b'simcha — receiving the Torah with joy.

Next week we'll continue our weekly program.