The Vatican’s Letter to the Rebbe

Welcome to our weekly program, the inside story of Chabad in America through the Mindel Archives. Since this week is Parshas Noach, I will share with you from the archives of Rabbi Nissan Mindel about the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach, and also about the shlichus that the Rebbe sent him on to Eretz Yisroel at that time, when the Rebbe told him to write a Shulchan Aruch, a code of laws, on the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach.

A couple of months ago, we spoke in our Thursday night program, and we mentioned that the Rebbe wore three crowns. The crown of a Rebbe of Chabad, just like the Alter Rebbe, just like the Mitteler Rebbe, just like the Tzemach Tzedek, just like the Rebbe Maharash, just like the Rebbe Rashab, and just like the Frierdiker Rebbe. All of Chabad throughout the world, the Rebbe was involved. The Rebbe also wore a second crown — that not only was he a Rebbe of Chabad, but he was also a Manhig Yisroel. He was the Jewish leader. People came to the Rebbe, and they relied on the Rebbe for everything, whether it was health or any problems with dollars. People wrote to the Rebbe — chassidim, non-chassidim, frum, not yet frum. Everybody was asking the Rebbe questions, and the Rebbe was involved with every single one. So he was a Manhig Yisroel.

Today we're going to speak about the third crown. The Rebbe was also a Manhig HaOlam. He was a leader of the world, the entire world. In 1983, at the Rebbe's 80th birthday farbrengen, the Rebbe spoke for the first time about the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach — that we, Yidden, should teach the goyim the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach. This was the first time that a Jewish leader, in 2,000 years since the Churban Beis Hamikdash, had ever spoken out and opened a campaign that Yidden should teach the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach to the goyim.

And here I'm going to quote — the Rebbe wrote quite a few letters, but one letter in particular, the Rebbe wrote in English. Now it's time for the Jewish people to see to it, to put a light to the nation, that every human being on earth live in accordance with the will of God, the Creator of mankind, and that the Jewish people, whom God chose, should be charged with the additional obligation that we should see that the goyim, the gentiles, fulfill the Seven Noahide Laws as written in the Rambam. This was the campaign that the Rebbe launched in 1983.

Now, this Lubavitcher campaign raised many eyebrows — Jews and also gentiles — and they said, if it's so important for the Jewish people to teach goyim the Sheva Mitzvos, why was it kept secret until now? How come no one ever came out with such a thing, that you have to teach the goyim the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach?

Now, before we get to the answer that the Rebbe gave in a letter, I want to tell you that the Vatican wrote a letter to the Rebbe, a very sharp letter, against what the Rebbe was doing. This was at that time. I have the letter in my possession. The Rebbe gave the letter to Rabbi Mindel. I don't know whether the Rebbe answered it or not. But it was a very sharp letter — they even disputed that these were not truly the seven laws, or whatever the claim was. We're not going to go into that now.

Now let's go back to the question: why was it kept secret until now? The answer the Rebbe gave was: we had no freedom. There was no opportunity. Yidden were persecuted. We were in hiding. It was impossible to run such a campaign all those years. But now, baruch Hashem, at the 80th birthday, it is a peaceful time. So now is the time for the Tikkun HaOlam, [unclear — "the second Olam"], the Malchus Beis Dovid, [unclear].

As a policy, the Rebbe never got involved in public controversies regarding church and state and other such matters. But when it came to the issue of prayer in public schools and federal aid to religious schools, the Rebbe was very much involved. This was around the same time that the Rebbe spoke about the Seven Mitzvos — that every single child in public school, Jewish and not Jewish, there should be prayer in the public school. And the Rebbe was very, very much against those who opposed that.

Now we can understand: before the Frierdiker Rebbe came to America, he called over Rabbi Hodakov, who was then in Riga. Rabbi Hodakov was the principal, as we once mentioned, of a yeshiva run on the approach of Torah Im Derech Eretz, the system of Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch. Rabbi Mindel was a student in that yeshiva. The Frierdiker Rebbe asked Rabbi Hodakov — Chassidus is a closed book. Chassidus is written in Hebrew; Tanya was written in Hebrew. People who speak French, or English, or Spanish, or Portuguese, don't know Chassidus because it's in Hebrew. I need somebody to help me — somebody who is a talmid chacham, someone who knows languages, someone who also knows secular studies. I need somebody to help me. So Rabbi Hodakov suggested Rabbi Mindel.

Rabbi Mindel came to the Frierdiker Rebbe, and the Frierdiker Rebbe liked him — besides everything else, he liked his character. He always liked him, and later on he was very, very close to Rabbi Mindel. This was the first time he brought him into America, and this is when Rabbi Mindel began to work with the Frierdiker Rebbe and became a mazkir (secretary) of the Frierdiker Rebbe.

Now, at the same time that the Rebbe spoke about the Sheva Mitzvos, the Rebbe was very clear about people who wanted to become megayer, to convert to Judaism. Here I'm going to quote a letter from the Rebbe: "There is no need" — and the Rebbe underlined that — "for a gentile to convert to Judaism, and in fact such attempts are discouraged." And then the Rebbe wrote the word, in small letters, "assur." Meaning that if a non-Jew wants to become megayer, the Rebbe was very much against it, and we should discourage such a thing.

I want to mention here also — and this applies to shluchim — because shluchim wrote to the Rebbe about the seder, about having a seder, and some shluchim have non-Jews at the seder. The Rebbe was very much against that. But the question arose: if the mother is Jewish and the husband is a non-Jew, and the children are Jewish and want to come to the seder, how should they handle it? They can't simply tell the husband not to come. The Rebbe said this she'eila has to be asked of the Rabbanim. I just want to make that point clear [as heard: ma'amar hamuzkar].

Here the Rebbe draws an arrow to what the Rambam says, and I'll read it: "Sh'kol hamekayem sheva mitzvos hallalu u'nizhar la'asoisan, h'arei zeh mechasidei umos ha'olam, v'yesh lo chelek l'olam haba — v'hu, sheyekabel osan v'ya'aseh osan mipnei shetzivah bahen haKadosh Baruch Hu baTorah, v'hodia al yedei Moshe Rabbeinu sheb'nei Noach m'kodem nitztavu ba'hen." And the Rambam says that b'nei Noach must fulfill the mitzvos not because they understand them with their sechel, but because they were commanded. Meaning that a gentile should fulfill the Sheva Mitzvos not because he or she understands them, but because the Torah says so. Because when you do something only because you understand it — and here, without going into the whole letter, the Rebbe brings an example of what happened in Germany, one of the most sophisticated nations, and yet they became animals. So if you do something, you do it because the Torah said so, not because your sechel tells you to.

Now, regarding the shlichus that the Rebbe sent Rabbi Mindel on, to Eretz Yisroel, to be mefarsem about the Sheva Mitzvos and to write the Shulchan Aruch on the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach — Rabbi Mindel told the Rebbe he could not do it. First of all, his wife, my mother-in-law, wasn't well, and he had to take care of her. Also, Rabbi Mindel was busy with his shlichus for the Rebbe. He was also busy writing books from America, and his monthly magazine, Talks and Tales — the "shmuesn" — he was very busy with that, and also with the dictation: the letters he had to go in and take dictation for from the Rebbe, including the Hebrew letters, which was all his domain, and then he had to bring them back to the Rebbe and come in again for dictation. It was a very busy time; he simply couldn't do it. So he told the Rebbe it was hard for him.

So the Rebbe told him he should speak to some kollel yungeleit. I believe he went to the Rosh Kollel, or he spoke to the yungeleit themselves — I don't remember exactly. He chose two yungeleit: one was Rabbi Levi Garelik, and one was Rabbi Dubov, who would write the Shulchan Aruch. They wrote it and gave it to the Rebbe, and the Rebbe held onto it for a long time, until the Rebbe gave it to Rabbi Mindel, and I now have it in my possession.

In the meantime, people had asked the Rebbe about printing or advertising the Sheva Mitzvos, and the answer was not positive — it was negative. People didn't know exactly what the Rebbe meant. First of all, the Rebbe said that you really need a mumche (an expert) to understand 100% how to do it — and he underlined the word "mumche" twice in a few places — and that it might antagonize non-Jews. So we are not sure what we should do with the Shulchan Aruch, whether we should publish it or not.

Now, I do want to say — if Rabbi Mindel and Rabbi Hodakov were here today, since these two understood, as much as anyone could, the way the Rebbe thought, it only makes sense that we would be able to ask them, and they would tell us what to do with the Shulchan Aruch or with other matters involving printing in America. Since they are not here, we don't know what to do.

Rabbi Hodakov and Rabbi Mindel sought no recognition; they didn't make a fuss of themselves. They were emesdike (truthful) people — no politics, no seeking honor [unclear] among them. This is why the Frierdiker Rebbe and the Rebbe chose those two. They were emesdike people, without gaavah. As the Frierdiker Rebbe said to my father-in-law: "You searched for the truth, you found the truth, and you lived with the truth." This was Rabbi Mindel and Rabbi Hodakov. If we had people like that today, it wouldn't be a problem to find out what to do about many things. But since we don't, nu — we don't know what to do.

At the same time, I do want to mention that I have some archives from Rabbi Mindel, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to work together with Merkos, if it's possible. Even if it becomes a question of "who" — as the Rebbe once said, the message is important, not the messenger. It doesn't matter who delivers it; it's only the message that matters. If the message goes out, that is what's important.

And therefore, I would like to say that, b'ezras Hashem, we should try to work together — baricheinu avinu kulanu k'echad — and b'ezras Hashem, next Thursday night we will continue our weekly program. Thank you.