0513 - Using Non-Jewish Tunes for 12 Pesukim

00:02 After the Rebbe established Tzivas Hashem and instituted the twelve psukim, the shluchim in Miami wrote to the Rebbe Hatzohar. And this is what they wrote. First paragraph said like this, Chabad has planning to produce a record with the song, with songs of the twelve psukim. We feel a recording of this kind will further the work of Tzivas Hashem. Another paragraph read, Tzivas Hashem headquarters in New York has given us permission to use the name and logo of Tzivas Hashem. They were very enthusiastic about the idea. Then they wrote the list of the psukim and which songs they're gonna sing to it. And this is the list. To the posek Torah Tziva lonu would be used the tune of sho- the shores of Montezuma. To the posek Shema Yisroel would be the Mordechai Ben David song of Shema Yisroel. To the posek V'chol derech vaderech, the song of Ki Al Kim. To the posek Kol Yisroel, they would use the song of Wake Up Yidden. To the posek Yikore v'lech, the song would be Yankee Doodle Dandy. To the posek V'hini Hashem nitzov would be the song of Just One Torah, Just One Shabbos. To the posek V'reishis voro elokim would be the tune of Bismarck. To the posek V'shanan tom l'vanecha would be a Russian march. To the posek Yorgaiti would be the song When Johnny Comes Marching Home. To the posek V'ahav l'reacha would be the song Give a Yell, Give a Cheer. To the posek V'zecher Lordon would be Noyde B'Yehuda. And to

01:24 the posek Yismach Yisroel would be Napoleon's March. And then they wrote to the Rebbe, "We picked marching songs because we felt children would respond to that type of music much more, and we are enclosing an estimate of the approximate cost to produce the record." So on this, the Rebbe answered like this. On the first paragraph, where they started by saying the Chabad has this planning to produce this record and the twelve psukim, and this would further the work of Tzivas Hashem. So the Rebbe wrote, "Levare im lei kodmon kvar." To be mevara, find out if no one did it already before you. Number two, when they wrote in the next paragraph that Tzivas Hashem headquarters gave permission to use the name and the logo of Tzivas Hashem, and they were enthusiastic about it, the Rebbe wrote, "Biksav, get this in writing. Shelei yu tainis achaka. There should be no tainis afterwards." Number three, the Rebbe circled these songs. The song, The Shores of Montezuma, Yankee Doodle, tune of Bismarck, Russian March, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, and Give a Yell. These songs, which are non-Jewish songs. So the Rebbe wrote on the side like this, "Beha mesuviv, those that I circled, you need heroas rav me anasha yichya mei le heroav askin." You need a psak heroa from a rav of anash who actually paskens dinim, not just, I guess, me, he's not just someone who has micha, but who paskens dinim. The askin is also an askin and is involved in activities knowing these

02:50 things. You have to ask him for a psak, ha efshar ukadai lafshiran. Is it possible, and is it worthwhile to kasher these songs, to make them kosher? Then the Rebbe wrote, "Sfeikei, if there is a sofek, dash l'chumra underline. Should go l'chumra and not do it." That was number three. Number four, and the words where it says that they wrote the Rebbe an approximate estimate of approximate cost, the Rebbe wrote, "Kimedume godol medai." Number four, he wrote, "It seems that it's too expensive, too much money." Then number five, "Asker al atzi im v'kol ha-nal hav mentioned by Dale for all this." And then he wrote, "Lahaz re matsuru." That means that whatever list they gave him, the Rebbe said he should send it back. But this is the answer of the Rebbe. So we see here the Rebbe's approach when the geia using non-Jewish songs, even if we're using it for psukim, the way the Rebbe wrote it here. And it's negeia to know because a lot of people do it, and this is the, the answer the Rebbe gave. And I doubt that it's b'davka for this and b'davka in this case. It seems like this is the Rebbe approach, Rebbe's approach bechalal.