The Last Will and Testament of the Rebbe

Welcome to our weekly program, The Inside Story of Chabad in America, from the Mindel archives. This is our second program, a continuation of last week.

Last week we started – we said that there was a vaad [committee] of people who wrote to the Rebbe, and the Rebbe was to check it over. Also, the Rebbe called Rabbi Mindel, Rabbi Hodakov, and Rabbi Piekarski[?] – this was in the month of Elul. Now today we'll continue that. The Rebbe called them also – I'm sorry, last week was in the month of Sivan; this week the Rebbe called them again, that is, he called them again to the room, and he said more or less the same as he had said last time in Sivan, about [unclear] in his work, and about the bylaws. I'm not going to go into this now, because I want to read the tzava'ah.

The Rebbe says that it should be – since you are in America, they established [the organizations as] corporations. On the [document] it says, "I am going to make now also a [directive], there should be discussed – there should be three pillars." It says here who should be in charge of Merkos, who should be in charge of Machne Israel, and who should be in charge of [Agudas Chassidei Chabad].

So here it says that Merkos – the officers should be in the hands of Rabbi Hodakov and Rabbi Nissan Mindel, and also Rabbi Simpson[?], and they are already all in Machne Israel as well. This should be given out to all three – that's what Rabbi Mindel wrote here. Then Rabbi Mindel wrote the tzava'ah in Hebrew, but I'm going to translate that into English, and that's the last will and testament of the Rebbe. After I finish reading it, I'm going to translate it into English.

I'll read what Rabbi Mindel wrote. His thoughts – I mean, who should know better than him, he was by the Rebbe, and the Rebbe asked them to write things down. This is all in his handwriting, so I have it right here. Now I'm going to read the last will and testament first.

"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 10, 1988, were requested to appear before His Eminence, son of the late [unclear], residing at 1304 President Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11213, for the purpose of 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 heretofore made, declaring as follows:

It is considered auspicious for long life to make a will. I have invited the three of you, first and foremost Rabbi Hodakov and Rabbi Nissan Mindel, since you were among the first persons whom my saintly father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneerson], made his close associates in his work, ever since he came to the United States, bringing you over with him. He invested you with the chief tasks and responsibilities in the administration of his newly founded organization, Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, Incorporated, and you have continued to serve in this capacity to this day. And with you I have invited Rabbi Piekarski[?], dean of the Central Lubavitch Yeshiva, 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 – this is me translating it from the Hebrew, this is what the Rebbe wrote – I desire and direct that all affairs of the Lubavitch movement, including all institutions, activities, programs, and so forth, continue to operate and function after my demise as they have functioned till now, in accordance with the established custom and practice that have been in place over many years.

Number two: Inasmuch as my saintly father-in-law, 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 L'Inyonei Chinuch and Machne Israel, and all departments and branches thereof, and inasmuch as, upon succeeding my saintly father-in-law as head of the Chabad Lubavitch 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 deem necessary to implement in recent years, namely to renew and reactivate Agudas Chassidei Chabad as the third main body, which, together with the aforementioned two chief organizations, 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."

Now here there's something erased which I cannot make out. The English that I'm reading is what Rabbi Mindel translated from the Hebrew, but he wrote it in Hebrew first, then translated it into English.

"Number three: 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 to date."

Now the Rebbe writes: in Merkos, the chief administrative executives being Rabbi Hodakov, Rabbi Mindel, and Rabbi Simpson[?]. And then Rabbi Hodakov writes over here in his own handwriting – I can't really read it, but whoever can read it, I think that's what Rabbi Hodakov wrote – these are people who are also already in Machne Israel, the chief administrative executives being Rabbi Hodakov, Rabbi Nissan Mindel, and Yehuda Krinsky. Again Rabbi Hodakov wrote, and in Agudas Chassidei Chabad, the chief administrative executives being Rabbi Hodakov, Gurary, and Raskin. And also it's erased over here – this is the original, and Rabbi Hodakov wrote something over here in his own handwriting.

Now I'm going to continue. "With regard to the monies donated at the Rebbe's discretion and disposition, it was the practice of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, to divide the monies into three parts and turn them over respectively to Merkos – a special fund which is one of the departments of Machne Israel. I, too, followed this established practice. It is my desire and directive that this practice be followed also after my passing, namely that all contributions to me be divided into three parts accordingly.

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

Then the Rebbe writes: "I hereby appoint as executors of this my will..." – in witness of all that has been said and done above, in our presence and in the presence of each other, witnessing also the testator setting his hand and seal to this his last will and testament. And then it says the names, but I don't see it signed. I do see that things were crossed out, were erased – it's impossible to know exactly what it says over here, but the Rebbe did write on this piece of paper.

Now I want to read to you what Rabbi Mindel wrote after the words of the Rebbe. Now, as you know, there was an English will written before – that one actually was signed – and that was written before this one. So let me read this, and I'll explain.

This is a note from Rabbi Mindel: "The Lubavitch movement eventually required two documents, I guess – one dealing with the estate, the material matters in the US, and one dealing with the spiritual administration of the Lubavitch movement, to replace him after his demise, since there was not going to be a successor Rebbe, for he was the seventh and last generation in the uninterrupted dynastic chain from the founder, the Alter Rebbe.

After the experience with the grandson of the previous Rebbe, who claimed a share of the estate, mainly the library, of his grandfather – [Rabbi Mindel could speak about this] – the Rebbe wanted to forestall any possible repetition of a similar claim. He executed a formal and legal last will and testament." And then the date of the English will is given – that was done in February, after the Rebbetzin passed away.

"When he later prepared to make the spiritual will, which we just read, and formulated it in the lashon hakodesh [Hebrew], a technical problem arose: if this was to be his 'last will and testament, thereby revoking any and all other wills heretofore made,' this would invalidate the previous will, and this is why he did not sign the spiritual will officially." He does write "officially," but the way I see it, as it was formulated, it would have to be reworded so as not to revoke the financial will.

"The reason for not signing the tzava'ah is as follows: to preserve the validity of the [legal English] will, this one would have to be made in the form of an addendum, stating..." – and this is where it would have had to have another amendment.

So apparently, from what he wrote, the English will was used – I guess the Rebbe used a notary – because that one is not really a tzava'ah in the religious sense, it's a legal, corporate document for the Rebbe's estate, with a court [seal] on it, and that made the executors sign everything. This tzava'ah is not that kind of document – that's why he needed Rabbi Hodakov and Rabbi Mindel as the representatives. And the reason, I guess, that we don't see a signature, is that if this were declared "the last will and testament," it would then invalidate the first one, the English one, and they didn't want that. It needed to be handled differently.

Anyway, so this is what I wanted to share with you. Some people know this, some people don't. So, thank you.