C O U N T E R P O I

Co u n t e r p o i n t A dialogue between authors and reviewers Books reviewed in Jewish Action, Summer 5760/2000 The Heroic Struggle the Communist party, to observant In Chapter 19, entitled “Leningrad Judaism. Alpert is cavalier and frag- Conference,” he relates that the This letter is a response to Schneur mentary, merely stating that there Leningrad Council consisted of 13 Zalman Alpert’s review of my book, should have been more information. non-observant Jews and 10 observant The Heroic Struggle. Alpert is a highly Indeed, the interested scholar can Jews. It was discovered that the intent gifted librarian and member of the tal- peruse various sources, among them of the conference was to introduce an ented Yeshiva University Library staff. Dr. Zvi Git t e l m a n ’s highly documented educational program to undermine His articles are usually informative and wo r k Jewish Nationality and Sovi e t traditional Judaism for children, to enriched oft times by knowledge not Pol i t i c s (P rinceton, 1972), who provi d e s create a revisionist seminary “in har- normally accessible to others. His an abundance of information reg a rd i n g mony with the spirit of the times,” article on Rabbi Shimon Rom, a rosh the ideological convolutions of this and to found houses of prayer with hayeshivah, printed in the weekly anti-religious organization. However, revised prayer books. The traditional Algemeiner Journal, was a three-dimen- the primary task of this work was to members, upon discovering this, sional depiction worthy of inclusion in project to the foreground of the read- immediately broke off from the any history of RIETS, the yeshivah of er’s consciousness the rare heroism of a council and generated large public Yeshiva University. And his observa- spiritual personality moving through outcry in defiance of this intention. tions have probably disconcerted the dark valley of adversity and From a person of dual loyalty, it was many complacent authors. However, emerging triumphant. Any extraneous learned that a meeting was convened his recent article was not up to his information would have detracted by the non-observant chairman of the usual standard. from this purpose. Leningrad council, and plans were The opening paragraph asserting a The book is pervaded by the made to covertly use every means “be-all, end-all” status to the Russian Lubavitcher Rebbe’s multifaceted available in this struggle against the Jewish community would probably spiritual and educational leadership. Lubavitcher Rebbe. This is seen as one provoke vociferous protest from Torah Indeed, his tormentors during interro- si g n i fi cant factor in the Reb b e ’s arres t . heirs of the Polish, Hungarian, Gal i c i a n , gation, in enumerating his many activ- This work also relates that rabbis from and German-Jewish communities. His ities, commenced by saying, “We are many cities were interrogated by the simple citation of Rabbi Chaim of well aware you have used your influ- G.P.U., whether they favored or Volozhin would have been enhanced ence to create a network of chadarim, opposed the convening of this confer- by stressing his conciliatory uniqueness yeshivosand other religious institutions ence. The Lubavitcher Rebbe finally in desisting from the ban against throughout the USSR.” His involve- wrote an outspoken letter opposing Chassidism, his acceptance of ment with the Joint agency was to this gathering and disclaiming any Chassidism in the yes h i v ah of Vol o z h i n , obtain funding for many religious insti- connection with this effort. The text and his possession of many Chassidic tutions in Russia. Included among the was on his desk when he was arrested works in his library. This matter has photographs there is a document listing by the G.P.U. Hun d r eds of copies wer e been frequently stressed in written and many chadarim and their budgets made of this letter and distributed oral form by Rabbi Dr. Norman under his auspices. Alpert’s statement throughout Russia to create public Lamm, president of Yeshiva University. that the reason for the arrest is not clamor against this plan, and in this The task of scholarship requires apparent is difficult to understand. way the conference was pushed off. rigorous self-discipline, entailing both Alpert mentions the Leningrad Indeed, during the prisoner interroga- inclusion and exclusion. Over-inun- Jewish Communal Council’s attempted tion he was explicitly asked the reason dation of information can be prover- conference and the Rebbe’s opposition for his opposing the conference, and bially like the overabundance of oil to this attempt. He expresses his he replied that only rabbinic authori- “extinguishing the flame of the wick.” skepticism to this having linkage with ties can deal with such matters. A The late Dr. Brickman, an eminent the Rebbe’s arrest. Rabbi Sholom Ber paradigm of altruism and mesiras academician, in his detailed introduc- Levin, in his work Toldos Chabad nefesh(self-sacrifice), he demanded the tion, clearly and effectively depicted BeRusia HaSovietis 1918-1940, same of his followers. A Chassid asked the virulent and intensive antagonism provides us with much important if his son should have a bris, since the of the Yevsektzia, the Jewish section of information on this era in general. father would be consequently exiled to JEWISH ACTION Winter 5761/2000 Siberia. The Rebbe replied, “Fur the course of the prayers and the Rabbi Levin’s work collects many gesundeheit– travel in good health.” removal of the Sefer Torah, the cantor’s letters and memoirs from Lubavitcher Alpert mentions a painful American recitation of the Aramaic Berich Shmai Chassidimin Communist Russia from court trial related to the Chabad stirred my curiosity. Whenever he 1918-1940, yet offers no analysis of library. The Chofetz Chaim ethic would recite the word “Keshot- truth,” these primary sources. Levin’s book is would have precluded citing this in the phrase “God is keshot, His clearly tendentious (as it presents only oc c u r r ence. He then, with euphemistic Torah is keshot,His Prophets are Chabad sources) and in a phone con- innuendo, uses the word “blacklisting” keshot,” etc. he recited with a throttled versation with me several years ago, regarding 3 people. In actuality, gag, barely forcing the words from his Levin stated that his work was to collect Chana Schneersohn is mentioned mouth. Ever conscious of surveillance, and pres e r ve the sources for the future twice, and Chaim Lieberman is men- I exchanged very brief Sabbath historian to draw upon and write the tioned 6 times. The Heroic Struggle greetings after the prayers with this historical account. Most importa n t l y , was originally published in the individual. Unable to control the Rabbi Metzger fails to rea l i z e that since Uforazto Journalin 1980, five years impulse, I uttered the word keshot.He the fall of Communism, the Russian before the book trial, and included the very briefly murmured, “One person archives have been opened to Western arrest incident. The approach to the understood.” Unable to express the scholars. Thus numerous archival crib of Barry Gurary was not men- anguish and rage against harsh reli- collections relating to the Communist tioned in the original version, and gious repression, he cried out to God, struggle against Judaism and the obviously is thus unrelated to the book with the emphasis on the word keshot Lubavitcher Rebbe have been made trial. In this context, a public state- from the innermost essence of his available to Israeli, Russian and ment to the Chabad community made personality. This to my mind is the American scholars. Young scholars by the famed Supreme Court lawyer essence of The Heroic Struggle. such as Efim Melamed, Leonid Nat Lewin after the trial’s conclusion Repeatedly, many individuals have Smilovitsky, Avraham Greenbaum and is noteworthy. He stated that a highly spoken of the profound, evocative Michael Beizer, amongst others, have critical juncture in the book trial was a effect that this work has had upon published important articles using statement of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s them, awakening within them the Soviet archival material concerning the wife, Chaya Mushka Schneerson. spark of Jewish identity, which Jewish fate of Judaism in Stalin’s Russia. The When asked about ownership of the mysticism and Chassidism assert can- material in my review was drawn from books, she answered, “The books not be dimmed or extinguished under Bei ze r ’s important article, The Leningrad belong to the Chassidim. My father any circumstances. It is to be hoped Jewish Religious Community —r Fom belonged to the Chassidim.” Indeed, at that with the broader distribution of NEP Through its Liquidationthat a later time, Chaim Lieberman made a this work, many other lives will be appeared in Jews In Eastern Europe conciliatory gesture through an inter- inspired and illuminated by the keshot (No. 28, Winter 1995). Even a casual mediary to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, heroism of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, glance at the notes accompanying the and it was accepted. The first Chabad culminating in the collective Messianic article will show the reader the wealth leader, Rabbi Schneur Zalman, in his redemption of the entire Jewish people. of archival material used in its prepara- classic work Likkutei Amarim Tanya, Rabbi Dr. Alter B. Metzger tion. Amongst these collections is a chapter 25, states that every mitzvah Brooklyn, NY small, but important, police file on the (action) endures eternally; the 3 indi- arrest of Reb Chaim Lieberman, the viduals obviously have an undeniable Zalman Alpert responds: Lubavitcher Rebbe’s personal secretary.

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