24 Friday, Feburary 11, 1984 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS (Readers Forum) Materials submitted to the Readers Forum must be brief. The writer's name will be withheld from publication upon request. No unsigned letters will be published. Materials will not be returned unless a stamped, self-addressed envelope is enclosed. Lubavitch Response Editor, The Jewish News: In the Feb. 10 issue of The Jewish News, a letter to the editor by Rabbi Jack Goldman eras printed. This letter contained gross dis- tortions of fact and pre- sented a totally misleading and malicious picture of the Lubavitch movement. Rabbi Goldman contends that Lubavitcher Hasidim follow the Shulhan Arukh of the Ray (the first Rabbi of Lubavitch) "which in some cases boldly takes issue with the accepted traditions of Orthodox Jewish life and strikes out with its own tra- ditions." Is Rabbi Goldman talking about Jewish law or Jewish customs? So what? Every Jewish group has de- veloped its own customs, and as long as they remain within the parameters of Halakha (Jewish Law), they are accepted and re- spected by all Jews. But the Ray's Shulhan Arukh is a work on Halakha, not customs. And anyone remotely familiar with the processes of the de- velopment of Halakha realizes the absurdity of Rabbi Goldman's state- ment. The Shulkhan Arukh, which is the defini- tive source of Jewish law, is constantly being developed by recognized Halakhic ex- perts. The Ray's Shulhan Arukh is one of several universally-accepted compendiums on the Shulhan Arukh, such as the Orukh HaShulhan, the Mishna Brurah and others. To say that the Ray's Shulhan Arukh disagrees with the origi- nal Shulhan Arukh is like saying that when a Jus- tice of the United States Supreme Court hands down a legal decision he disagrees with the Con- stitution! Among all Hasidic groups the Ray has always been the final Halakhic authority. I challenge Rabbi Goldman to document one case where the Shulhan Arukh of the Ray "takes issue with ac- cepted traditions of Or- thodox Jewish life!" Rabbi Goldman claims that "Lubavitchers spurn the traditional commen- taries on the Torah in favor of Tanya, a commentary on the Scriptures revered by the Lubavitcher sect." First of all, Tanya is not, and bears no relationship what- soever to a commentary on the Scriptures. Rather, Tanya is a philosophical work on the nature of God, Torah and the Jewish soul. This remarkable book has been responsible in our A LETTER TO THE JEWISH COMMUNITY times for awakening tens of thousands of Jews to their spiritual heritage_ It is by no means studied exclu- sively by Lubavitchers. For example, in the world- renowned Mesivta Torah V'Daas (a recognized non- Hasidic institution of higher Jewish learning) lec- tures are regularly given on Tanya. Rabbi Goldman is per- turbed that Lubavitch has its own prayer book. Surely he must be aware that there are many different siddurim that are accepted in the Or- thodox community. Sephardic Jews pray from a siddur which is very different from that of Western Jews; among Western Jews there are many variations (or "nuschaot" as they are called) of Ashekenaz, Sfrad, and Nusakh Ari; Yaakov Rabbi world- Kaminetzky, renowned Torah authority, has stated that in his opin- ion the two most grammatically correct sid- durim are the siddur of Habad-Lubavitch and the siddur edited by the Mun- kaczer Rebbe. As far as Rabbi Goldman's contention that "Lubavitch promotes dis- harmony and divisiveness," may I point out that Lubavitch institutions are represented and work to- gether, not only with the U.S. Congress on a national level, but on a local level with the Council of Or- thodox Rabbis which repre- sents the Orthodox commu- (Continued on- Page 25) .1D1Y11 13`11.1i1 11)1 A letter appeared in the February 1 0, 1 984 edition of the • Jewish News suggesting that Lubavitchers have their own brand of Judaism which is 'different from that of mainstream Orthodox Judaism. The tenor of that letter, written by Rabbi Jack Goldman, is a gross distortion of the truth and a disservice to the Jewish community. If not for Lubavitch there would be neither the Bais Chabad Torah Center, a functioning Orthodox Synagogue and adult education center, nor the Bais Chabad Afternoon School, the only independent Orthodox Hebrew School in the Metropoli- tan Detroit area. Both of these institutions are headed by a Lubavitcher Rabbi, maintain the true ideals of Judaism, and have brought many Jews back to the ways of Torah. The great majority of the members of these institutions are not Lubavitchers, yet they are very comfortable learning and praying in the true spirit of Torah. 1'03 D- Aociox cRaggi,i p kaz 11011 WEST TEN MILE ROAD • SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN 48015 PHONE: 559-5005-06 Rabbi Leizer Levin President Phone 557-6828 Rabbi Chaskel Grubner MNAHEL Phone: 398-1017 Rabbi Goldman would have the readers of the Jewish News believe that they are being misled by Lubavitch. This is far from the reality of the situation. Lubavitch provides a valuable service to the Jewish community and it continues to be a vibrant, suc- cessful movement, which is continually growing world-wide. Dear Editor, Rabbi Jack Goldman labels Lubavitch customs and practices as "divisive innovations." He came to Congregation Bais Chabad and applied for membership of his own free will. Our Congrega- tion welcomed him with open arms. We consider the contents of his letter insidious and certainly "divisive." If he is uncomfortable with the ways of Lubavitch, he is free to leave our Congregation and go elsewhere. SIGNED Rabbi Shach did write about certain matters, but he did not mention the Ray's Shulchan Aruch - which is a sacred work accepted by Klal Yisrael (the overall Jewish Community) as the work of a great ga'on (pre-eminent scholar) and posek, (Torah-Law Authority). FRED J. RUBY PRESIDENT, BAIS CHABAD OF WEST BLOOMFIELD LARRY GORMEZANO VICE PRESIDENT, MORRIS MANDELBAUM TREASURER, BAIS CHABAD BAIS CHABAD ERWIN HOLLANDER PAST PRESIDENT, BATS CHABAD ALEX EHRMANN MEMBER OF THE BOARD, BAIS CHABAD FRAN ROGERS MEMBER OF THE BOARD, and PRESIDENT OF THE SISTERHOOD, BAIS CHABAD EILEEN BORSAND VICE PRESIDENT, SISTERHOOD, BAIS CHABAD LUCILLE RUBY VICE PRESIDENT, SISTERHOOD, BAIS CHABAD JERRY BORSAND CHAIRPERSON, BAIS CHABAD RONALD ROGERS CHAIRPERSON, BAIS CHABAD l• s. 1. a !1 In the last issue of your worthy and respected newspaper (Jewish News; February 10) there appeared a letter to the Editor headed "Lubavitch vs Orthodox." The Council of Orthodox Rabbis of Detroit feels an obligation to respond to that letter and to issue a clarification: The Mishna Berura, a halachic Compendium authored by the Chafetz Chayim — greatest halachic authorityof the previous generation — in many instances bases his rulings upon the verdicts of the Ray's Shulchan Aruch. In our city, variant forms (Nuscha'ot) of prayer are in use, as expressions of different, valid customs; but the foundation of them all is the purity and sanctity of our Torah. The different groups within the Torah - Community using these Nuscha'ot are all striving for the same goal - the dissemination of Torah-Judaism, of Yiddishkeit. In our community Lubavitch is one of the forces helping to spread Judaism, Torah, religious commitment (Yiras Shamayim), education of boys and girls, kashrut, etc. The Rabbis of the Lubavitch Synagogues are members in the Council of Rabbis and they assist and support all aspects of the Council's work. Our objective and goal is to unify all forces in the city — not, G-d forbid, to foster divisiveness. Letters such as - the one printed last week can only sow disunity. In our opinion the letter should not have been printed in your worthy newspaper, a publication whose editors and staff - I am sure - would likewise want only to promote the unity and togetherness of the Klal Yisrael. Council of Rabbis Detroit Look for this Symbol as your Guarantee for Council Kashruth Supervisi•n