The Empty Promise Made by Russia’s Culture Minister

Welcome to our weekly program, "The Inside Story of Chabad in America," through the Mindel Archives. This is the fifth or sixth program that is a continuation of the trips the Rebbe sent Rabbi Mindel to Russia, in those days, at the most dangerous time, with a background of capturing the sforim and manuscripts that the Rebbe asked them to bring back from Russia.

Last week we mentioned the times that he went, we mentioned some stories — you can always click back and listen. But today I want to read a note that Rabbi Mindel wrote. Remember that we said that whatever Rabbi Mindel wrote was very accurate — his writing was very meticulous — so whatever he wrote was a hundred percent accurate. It's important to know this.

As I showed you a few weeks ago, this is the package — this whole package is all the trips to Russia, and he wrote down everything. Some of it goes here, so this is the package of Russia. Today I want to read what he wrote. He wrote in Hebrew a note, maybe to somebody, in the year 1988, and I'm going to translate this into English.

In 1988 the Rebbe sent us, three shluchim, to Russia to find the Lubavitch library. He writes — this is from Hebrew — the first World War, the Lubavitch library was transferred from Lubavitch to Moscow in 1915. Then it fell into the hands of the Communist regime — around twelve thousand sforim, books. The books were rare books.

Three shluchim, we went as guests of the Ministry of Culture, thanks to Dr. Armand Hammer — he was the head of Occidental Petroleum — all doors were open for him in the Soviet Union. He was promised by the culture minister, Zakharov, that if we would find the Lubavitch manuscripts, they would allow them to be given back to the owners. This was promised. Who are the owners? The Rebbe shlita, the Agudas Chasidei Chabad in America. And it was underlined.

But the fact was: not only did we not get help from the Ministry of Culture — no one opened the doors for us — but we did know where our library, this forum, should be found: in the head Soviet library, the one with the name of Lenin, in Moscow. By Hashgacha Pratis — divine providence — Hashem helped us. We found out that our complete collection, by far, were intact, not scattered around all over in different places the way they wanted us to believe, but under another name — not Schneersohn, not Lubavitch — under another name entirely.

I cannot describe this in a letter right now, but I did tell the Rebbe. We were also in Leningrad. When we were finished with our main work in Moscow and Leningrad, I returned home. The other two went to other places — like Kiev, Odessa — to look for more books and manuscripts. I left because my wife was not feeling well, and the other reason only the Rebbe knows, and not for now.

The bureaucracy in the Soviet Union was indescribable — everything with a smile, because we were still official guests. This is unbelievable. On my other trips, he writes — that we spoke about the last few programs — the Rebbe shlita sent me, I traveled undercover; no one knew who I was, that I belonged to Lubavitch. And the shlichus — meaning that this was a different type of shlichus.

Then he writes a memorandum, January 13, 1988. I don't think we have time to read the whole thing, but I'll just start here and I'll finish it next week.

"After visiting with Olga Dyakonova [?], chief of the Department of Foreign Culture Relations of the Lenin Library, we left with her, at her request, a list of twenty books from the original Lubavitch library which we have strong reason to believe are in the Lenin Library. We could easily find and identify them if we were given permission to do so. The said books could also serve as a key to tracing and identifying the rest of the Lubavitch library if we were given permission to continue the search. Olga Dyakonova [?] said she would discuss the list with the library consultant on Hebraic literature and possibly arrange to have a meeting with him.

"Our visit with Olga took place yesterday afternoon. We believe that some manuscripts of the Lubavitch library may be found in the Department of Manuscripts of the Lenin Library. We would like to get permission to visit the section of Hebrew literature of that department. We know there is, in the Saltykov-Shchedrin Library of Leningrad, a section marked 'Schneersohn Archives,' located near the Firkovich collection. Our plan calls for a visit to Leningrad after our mission in Moscow is completed, at least as the first step, as mentioned in the first paragraph.

"It could be necessary that the chief librarian of the said Leningrad library receive instruction from the Ministry of Culture to extend to us every assistance and cooperation to visit and examine the Schneersohn archives, as well as other departments of the library pertinent to our research.

"We have reason to believe that part of the Lubavitch library stored at the Lenin Library in Moscow may have been transferred to the library of the Institute of Jewish Culture in Kiev in or about the year 1934. The library of the said institute was partly destroyed by the Germans during the war. The books that had been salvaged were packed in boxes and stored in two local cellars, the addresses of which we know. This took place in 1949, and to the best of our knowledge may still be there, though we do not know in what condition."

And I'll read you one more paragraph, and the rest I will leave for next week.

"During the years of 1925 and 1935, the said institute was the place where Jewish and Hebrew books had been confiscated or otherwise collected from synagogues and individuals. For the most part, these books belong to the Lubavitch synagogues and followers in various parts of the — these books are of no interest to the Russian people, since they had been left in storage all this time. They are, however, of interest and belong to the Lubavitch movement."

And then he writes: "We wish to visit Kiev after Leningrad for the purpose of verifying our information, and eventually receive permission from the Ministry of Culture to have them restored to the Lubavitch library headquarters in Brooklyn, New York."

So, and I didn't finish — next week I will finish. This is very important, that the world should know what is happening when we say, "Hashem," and then the Rebbe sent people to Russia — they were there for a long time. This is very, very important, which Hashem — next week we are going to continue this program. Thank you.