When 500 Rabbis Marched in Washington, DC

Welcome to our weekly program, The Inside Story of Chabad in America, through the Mindel Archives. This is a continuation of last week. Last week we covered correspondence from public figures — from Eretz Yisroel only — politicians, dignitaries, that sent the Rebbe congratulations on the Rebbe's birthday.

Today I want to share with you some of the dignitaries from the entire world — correspondence, wishes, from presidents, governors, mayors, senators, kings, vice presidents, councilmen, and more. Besides that, I also want to show you correspondence that was sent by the Frierdiker Rebbe to Washington in the 1940s, early 40s, about relief and other matters.

So I want to show you here some pictures of the 500 Rabbis, and the Frierdiker Rebbe — they needed a delegation to go to Washington, and this was in the time of the Frierdiker Rebbe, in 1943.

Here are some photos that Rabbi Mindel took, called the March of the 500 Rabbis. I want to go through these pictures. The Frierdiker Rebbe sent Rabbi Quint [?], Rabbi Zalman Gurary, Rabbi Binyomin Leventhal [?], and Rabbi Mindel to go to Washington. These are also notes that Rabbi Mindel wrote about what happened then, and I'm going to read these notes while you see the pictures of the 500 Rabbis that Rabbi Mindel took. Some of them are not that clear, but this is what he took.

I'm going to read to you the notes from 1943. The Frierdiker Rebbe sent them to Washington. He wrote like this: this was a march in 1943 by 500 rabbis. The main speaker was Rabbi Kabinetsky [?]. Also on this march were Harav Eliezer Silver, Horav Yitzchok Rosenberg [?], Rabbi Friedman — the Boyaner Rebbe — and Dave Leventhal [?]. Also on the march was the Bostoner Rebbe, as you can see in the pictures.

This march was on behalf of Jewish brethren in Europe who were being thrown into the ovens of the Holocaust, and no one wanted to listen. Rabbi Mindel — together with Gurary, Leventhal, and Quint — the representatives, writes: this took place three days before Yom Kippur. The rabbis marched from Union Station to the Capitol, where they were met by Vice President Henry Wallace and members of Congress. HaRav Silver read the petition to the president in Hebrew and English. HaRav Silver was crying when he read it, and this is what he said:

"Children, infants, elderly men and women are crying to us for help. Millions have already died, sentenced to fire and sword, and thousands already died of starvation. How can we stand and daven on the holy day of Yom Kippur, knowing that we haven't fulfilled our responsibility? So we came broken-hearted, on the eve of the holiest day, Yom Kippur, to ask you, President Roosevelt, to form a special agency to rescue the remainder of the Jewish nation in Europe."

He writes that they then walked to the Lincoln Memorial, where they prayed for the welfare of the president and for the Jews in Hitler's Europe.

Mindel writes in his notes that when the rabbis reached the gates of the White House, unbelievably, they were stunned to be told that the president was unavailable to meet with the delegation. What the rabbis did not know was that President Roosevelt's top Jewish advisers — Rabbi Weiss [?] and Rosamond [?] — persuaded President Roosevelt to avoid the rabbis by leaving the White House through a rear exit. They did not want the president to give the rabbis attention; they thought it would bring antisemitism. The rabbis were very disappointed, especially that the Jewish advisers told the president not to meet with them. Wise and the other Jewish advisers to the president felt that the demonstration was not important, so the president did not have to pay attention to them.

Mindel writes it was a tragic day — this came from Jews themselves. He says a rabbi — I don't know which one — maybe when he came back to the Frierdiker Rebbe, maybe one of the people there, said: "I can't feel anything positive about President Roosevelt, knowing the end result — the president failed the cause. Not just one time, but through years of Nazi persecution, nothing was done: not bringing refugees to the United States, not doing anything to protect the Jews who were being herded into freight cars and brought to death camps."

It was known what President Roosevelt's daily schedule was — he writes, from October 1st through the 6th, 1943, and he notes that on Wednesday, October 6th — the day the rabbis marched — he had nothing scheduled between one o'clock and four o'clock. Meaning, there was nothing preventing him from meeting the rabbis when they came to the White House that afternoon, and only because of these Jews — these Jewish advisers, who unfortunately should not be called rabbis — the president was prevented from seeing them.

Now, here we can learn that we always have to stand up for what's right, whatever happens. He came back and told the Frierdiker Rebbe — can you imagine how upset the Frierdiker Rebbe was. The Frierdiker Rebbe mentioned over here — the quality that gives credit — I don't want to end with this, so I'm going to end off with one proclamation.

There was a proclamation that President Ronald Reagan wrote about the Yud Aleph Nissan, in recognition of Rabbi Schneerson's achievements, and in celebration of his 85th birthday:

"The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 200, has designated April 10, 1987, as Education Day USA, and authorized and requested the president to issue a proclamation in observance of this event. Now, therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Friday, April 10, 1987, as Education Day USA, and call upon the people of the United States, and in particular our teachers and other educational leaders, to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. In witness thereof, I have set my hand this ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord 1987, and of the independence of the United States of America, the 211th."

And Ronald Reagan signs this. So this is a proclamation that he wrote. Next week we will continue with more of the proclamations that were written.

Thank you.