Gutnick-Steinmetz - Elul 1, 5774 - Yechidus of Rebbe With R. Chaim Gutnick
Gutnick-Steinmetz - Elul 1, 5774 - Yechidus of Rebbe With R. Chaim Gutnick
Gutnick-Steinmetz - Elul 1, 5774 - Yechidus of Rebbe With R. Chaim Gutnick
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Introduction
It is with great gratitude to Hashem that we are
celebrating the wedding of our dear children Moshe and
Chaya. We would like to thank all of our family and
friends for coming from near and far and making our
simcha so special.
As a token of appreciation we present you with this
tshurah (memento), in the tradition of the Previous
Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Rayatz, who distributed a
tshurah at the wedding of his daughter and son-in-law,
the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Rebbetzin.
This memento contains transcripts and letters
documenting the rich history of the relationship between
the families of the bride and groom and the Rebbes of
Lubavitch. We would like to thank Rabbi Osher Gutnick
(brother of the groom) for researching, translating, and
editing much of the material.
May Hashem bless the bride and groom both materially
and spiritually among all those who have participated in
this celebration, and indeed all of Israel. May we soon
gather for the ultimate celebration the final
Redemption.
1 An example from the diary of R Zalmon Jaffe, dated Iyar 19, 5730 (May 25,
1970): I rushed to 770 and took my stand outside the Rebbes door. It was now
midnight and, as Rabbi Gutnick had been with the Rebbe since 11:00 p.m., I
expected to enter at any moment. Suddenly the door opened. I was caught
unaware as Rabbi Gutnick emerged. I looked at my watch; it was 2:00 a.m.
(Zalmon Jaffe, My Encounter with the Rebbe.)
Literally, And you shall spread out. Cf. Genesis 28:14. See also the
introduction to Kesser Shem Tov. The founder of Chassidism, the Baal Shem Tov,
related that he once reached the chamber of Moshiach and asked him, Eimosai
kaasi mar? - When is the master coming? Moshiach replied, Lechesheyafutzu
maynasecha chutza - When your wellsprings have spread out.
I.e., the Rebbe was speaking in practical terms and Rabbi Gutnick was
responding theoretically.
6 I.e., esoteric interpretations of the Torah (as opposed to pshat, the term used to
describe basic interpretations that serve as the foundation of Jewish law).
The Rebbe: First of all, if you do it, a second person will also do it, and a
third and a fourth will do it We dont know how far it will
go.
Secondly, there is another ruling stated in the Rambam 9
that a person should consider the world evenly balanced [by
good and evil deeds], and that through his one good deed he
can tip the scales for the good. When you return a Jew to
Torah and good deeds there is no way of knowing if that will
tip the scales...
R Gutnick: I take it upon myself to do this, when I return to Australia
after Tisha Bav.
The following excerpt has been published in Kfar Chabad magazine number
806 (Hebrew), in Week in Review by the Meaningful Life Center, and on
Chabad.org.
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15 The Rebbe specified that the number of new Tefillin hands should be [at least]
equal to Israels Jewish population 2.5 million at the time.
16 In a subsequent letter to Ariel Sharon, the Rebbe praised him for the
tremendous inspiration that he had aroused by putting on tefillin at the Western
Wall. See Chabad.org, 1967: Tefillin for Sharon.
The Rebbe: He put on tefillin that day, and wouldve put on again the
next day as well, had someone gone to visit him and
encourage him to do it. But nobody did.
R Gutnick: Will the Jewish people listen to us if we speak to them about
Torah and mitzvos?
The Rebbe: Yes, the Jewish people will listen. Not only teenagers, but
also forty-year-olds people advanced and established in
their lives are ready to hear the truth, if only their leaders
will speak it to them.
R Gutnick: Have we missed the opportune moment? Is it not too late?
The Rebbe: No, it is now August. 17 If we do our job, if the shluchim do
their job and tell the world the truth, we can bring the
Redemption
The Rebbe [waving his hand]: Nu... This week is Shabbos Chazon. 18 You
have most probably heard my sichos 19 that in this period
one must be happy. Let us be happy and go out and
farbreng with Jews and relate to them the awakening that
has taken place, and may G-d help the redemption actually
come.
The Rebbe: The boys in the yeshiva 20 write to me that you deliver
shiurim (lectures), but I do not want you to be the guest
speaker. Three times a week is better than twice a week;
twice a week is better than once a week.
17
I.e., the Shabbos before Tisha Bav, called Chazon vision because that is the
first word and theme of the haftara read that week.
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20 Earlier that year, for the very first time, the Rebbe had dispatched student
emissaries from New York to the newly-formed Yeshiva Gedolah in Melbourne,
also known as the Rabbinical College of Australia and New Zealand, of which
Rabbi Gutnick was dean.
10
The central work of Chabad philosophy, compiled by the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi
Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad.
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A book containing the laws of Torah study, as codified by the Alter Rebbe.
( with the letter alef) is Yiddish for study hall; ( "without the letter alef)
stands for " " May its memory be for a blessing.
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[With blessings for good news] resulting from your great
persistence in the study of nigleh and chassidus and your
success in this matter and in general.
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Free translation:
By the grace of G-d, 7th of Menachem Av, 5727 (1967)
Brooklyn
[To] the young man, Mordechai Zev hakohen may you be well
Greetings and blessings!
In reply to the notification regarding your birthday
Certainly you will fulfill the birthday customs [that have been
established] recently in our community. May it be G-ds will that you
have a year of success in the study of Torah and the fulfillment of mitzvos
with enthusiasm.
With blessings for the study of Torah with fear of G-d,
/Rebbe's Signature/
Certainly you keep [the custom of reciting] daily the three portions that
are equally applicable to everyone Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya
and you will also continue to do so from now on.
In response to what you wrote 28 you should continue your studies at
our yeshiva in Melbourne, with persistence and diligence, in nigleh and
chassidus. You should also influence your friends may they be well to
do likewise. May it be [G-ds] will that all of you, together, raise the
standing of the yeshiva higher and higher, for your own good and for the
good of all our brethren the House of Israel, may they be well in
Australia. The merit of the multitude will assist you.
R Gutnick had asked the Rebbe if he could leave the newly-established Yeshiva
Gedolah in Melbourne (of which he was an inaugural student) to further his
rabbinic studies at the central Lubavitch yeshiva in New York (770).
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The following anecdote about Rabbi Kramer and the Lubavitcher Rebbe
was told by Rabbi Sholom Ber Chaikin:
Rabbi Kramer once scheduled a yechidus (private audience) with the
Previous Rebbe on the eve of the seventh day of Pesach, 5709 (1949).
When Rabbi Kramer came, the Previous Rebbe told him to come back on
Motzei Pesach. On Motzei Pesach Rabbi Kramer noticed the Previous
Rebbe looking very tired, so he waited in 770 but didnt go into the
yechidus. Rabbi Menachem Schneerson (before he accepted the
leadership of the Chabad movement) saw Rabbi Kramer and asked him
why wasn't going into the yechidus. Rabbi Kramer replied that he noticed
that the Previous Rebbe was very tired, and he doesnt want to bother
him. Rabbi Schneerson answered him, "Oif a Rebbe darf men nit
rachmonus hobin for a Rebbe one need not have mercy." So Rabbi
Kramer went into the yechidus.
A few years later, after the Rebbe had assumed the leadership, Rabbi
Kramer entered a yechidus and requested a blessing on behalf of an
acquaintance, but the Rebbe did not respond. He kept asking the Rebbe
throughout the yechidus, to no avail. Finally the the Rebbe asked him,
"Why do you keep asking if Im not answering?" Rabbi Kramer reminded
the Rebbe that he had once told him, Oif a Rebbe darf men nit
rachmonus hobin for a Rebbe one need not have mercy! The Rebbe
smiled and answered, "Obir men darf nisht mehader zayn but one
does not have to be so zealous about it."
17
Letter from the Rebbe to the parents of the groom, Rabbi and
Mrs. Gutnick, on the occasion of their marriage, 5732 (1972):
18
Free translation:
By the grace of G-d, 23rd of Sivan, 5732 (1972)
Brooklyn, New York
[To] the young man who is accomplished and a chassid, a
man who fears G-d, pleasant and gracious, etc., Rabbi
Mordechai Zev hakohen and his bride may you be well
Greetings and blessings!
In reply to your notification that the date of your wedding
has been set for the second day of Rosh Chodesh Tammuz,
which arrives upon us for the good
I send you herewith my blessings of mazel tov, mazel tov,
and that it should take place in a happy and auspicious
hour, and that you build an everlasting Jewish home based
on the foundations of the Torah and mitzvos, as they are
illuminated with the inner light of the Torah the teachings
of Chassidus.
With blessing of mazal tov, mazal tov,
/Rebbe's Signature/
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Letter from the Rebbe to the parents of the bride, Rabbi and Mrs.
Steinmetz, on the occasion of their marriage, 5748 (1988):
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Free translation:
By the grace of G-d, 7th of Mar Cheshvan, 5725 (1964)
Brooklyn
[To] the young man Abba Michel may you be well
Greetings and blessings!
In reply to the notification regarding your birthday
Certainly you have fulfilled the birthday customs [that have
been established] recently in our community. May it be G-ds
will that you have a year of success in the study of Torah and
the fulfillment of its mitzvos in prosperity.
With blessings
(The Rebbes handwritten message reads:)
".""
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Free translation:
By the grace of G-d, 12th of Elul, 5711 (1951)
Brooklyn.
[To] the rabbi and scholar who is accomplished and a chassid, a man who
fears G-d, pleasant and gracious, who is involved in communal affairs,
Rabbi Osher may you be well
Greetings and blessings!
In reply to your notification that on the 8th day of Elul was the
culmination of the third year of [the life of] the young boy Mordechai Zev
[Gutnick 31], the son of Raizel; the son of your stepson, Rabbi Chaim
Shneur Zalman may he be well I send you herewith my blessing that
his parents raise him to Torah, to marriage, and to good deeds, in
prosperity.
The [Previous] Rebbe would write the following message regarding the
[customary first] haircut for [boys turning] three years old:
Regarding the cutting of the hair, or opshernish: This is a
great Jewish custom, and its main [purpose] is to educate [the
child] about leaving the peyos of the head. 32 From the day of
the haircut and the leaving of the peyos of the head it has also
been customary to familiarize the infant with the tallis kattan
[tzitzis], the morning blessings, Grace after meals, and the
bedtime Shema. G-d will help you ensure that you raise [your
child] to Torah, to marriage, and to good deeds, in prosperity
and peace of mind, physically and spiritually.
Signing with a blessing [that you be] written and sealed for a good and
sweet year,
/Rebbe's Signature/
PS:
Regarding what you mention in your letter that you are uncertain
as to whether those in your country properly fulfill the mitzvah of the
Four Species. 33 [You write] that the government has decreed that all fruit
imported to Australia without proper certification must be quarantined,
but that a [certain government] official has acted on his own volition to
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allow the fruit [esrogim] to be given to their owners for the duration of
the festival on condition that they are returned after the festival to be
destroyed. [You write] that the community has a long-standing tradition
permitting [the use of such esrogim], but that you are concerned [that
they may not be used] because they are forbidden for consumption and
must be destroyed by government decree it is only due to the officer
acting outside of the strict bounds of the law [that they are allowed to be
used] and they therefore do not meet [the required halachic conditions
of] the law of money and permissibility for consumption. 34
Time does not allow [me] to elaborate upon this matter at length, but in
my opinion there is no room for concern. I will mention just two of the
reasons:
1) What makes the esrog forbidden [for consumption in this case] is
not the fruit itself, but the place it is in. This is similar to [the
question of] whether it is permitted to make a blessing on an esrog
in the Holy Temple. Although it was forbidden to eat nonconsecrated produce [such as an esrog] in the Temple, the Mishnah
clearly implies that people would make a blessing on the esrog and
lulav in the Temple. 35 This is because it was not the esrog itself that
was forbidden, but rather the consumption of non-consecrated
produce in the Temple. This is similar to our case: It is not that the
esrog itself requires destruction, but that in Australia it is forbidden
to keep fruit from overseas without certification.
2) It is clear that the law of money exists in this case for many
reasons, among them: if the owner of the esrog wanted to take it
with him out of Australia, the authorities would certainly not stop
him from doing so. The same applies regarding permissibility for
consumption: If a person, immediately upon bringing an esrog into
Australia, wanted to destroy it by eating it, it seems clear that the
authorities would allow him to do so if he took responsibility for his
own health.
Regarding the mitzvah of the Four Species, the Torah states, And you shall
take for yourselves (Leviticus 23:40). From the words for yourselves the
Sages deduced two things: 1) One must properly own the Four Species i.e., one
must have the ability to sell them for money. This condition is referred to here as
the law of money. 2) One must be able to gain personal benefit from the Four
Species i.e., the esrog, which is primarily beneficial as an edible fruit, must
have permissibility for consumption. If these two conditions are not met, one
cannot use the Four Species for the purposes of fulfilling the commandment. See
Shulchan Aruch HaRav, 649:1, 5, and 17 for further details on these laws.
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Free translation:
By the grace of G-d, 27th of Menachem Av, 5748 (1988)
Brooklyn, New York
[To] the rabbi and chassid, a man who fears G-d, pleasant
and gracious, who is involved in communal affairs, Rabbi
Mordechai Zev hakohen may you be well
Greetings and blessings!
In reply to your notification that a son was born to you in an
auspicious hour
May it be G-d's will that you [his parents] bring him into the
Covenant of Abraham our forefather, and just as you bring
him into the Covenant, so may you bring him to Torah, to
marriage, and to good deeds, and may you raise him together with your wife may she be well in prosperity.
With blessing of mazal tov,
/Rebbe's Signature/
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