B"H
A Statement
In response to the various questions we have received
regarding recent publicity on the subject of Moshiach etc.,
we quote in its entirety, a statement by. Agudas Chassidei
Chabad.
"With reference to recent pronouncements and advertise r
ments, purporting to reflect the official policy of the
Lubavitch movement — we wish to declare that no organiza-
tion, group or individual may convey any such message or
announcement without permission of Agudas Chassidei
Chabad, the international umbrella organization of the
Chabad-Lubavitch movement. This includes, but is not lim-
ited to, the use of the address of Lubavitch World
Headquarteri— 770 Eastern Parkway, in New York.
We request all organizations, groups or individuals, in the
United States, Israel and abroad, to cease and desist from
such activities and/or pronouncements which are misleading
and create serious confusion."
Tevet 26, 5753 / January 19, 1993
We would also like to inform you that, contrary to media
reports, the event in New York last Sunday, January 31, at
the Central Lubavitch Shul was a standard Chassidic gather-
ing (a Farbrengen), celebrating the Rebbe's accession to lead-
ership (in 1950) in the same manner as every year with no
special or unusual program.
Lubavitch Foundation of Michigan
Rabbi Berel Shemtov
Regional Director
Rabbi Y.M. Kagan
Associate Director
RABBI GRONElt TO LEAD
CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT'S TORAH STUDY
Rabbi Irwin Groner will teach at the
Conservative Movement's Weekly Torah Study
12:30-1:30 Thursday,
February 11th
at the Federation Building
A deli lunch is available at noon for a charge.
For reservations, call:
Seminary Office - 258-0055
NEWCOMERS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME.
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I wish to THANK my
Dear Children and Grandchildren
for establishing the
ESTHER & HARRY KORELITZ
LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION FUND
for the JARC Association
- in celebration of
my birthday and to honor
the loving memory of HARRY.
Nachman Of Bratslav:
Master Of The Parable
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ EDITOR EMERITUS
A
sensational story
from Jerusalem,
which includes the
Ukraine, calls atten-
tion again to one of the most
famous • Chasidic leaders,
Nachman of Bratslav (1772-
1811). The story, with
several inconsistencies in-
volving President Chaim
Herzog of Israel, serves to
preserve the memory of the
most frequently quoted
Chasidic sage. Here is the
story from Jerusalem:
There was much egg on
the face of Israeli presi-
dent Chaim Herzog after
his dramatic announce-
ment at a state dinner for
the visiting president of
Ukraine that he had
secured Ukraine's con-
sent to move to Israel the
remains of a revered
Hasidic sage who died 180
years ago.
Bratslav Hasidim here
and abroad reacted with
horror to the announce-
ment by the president that
Ukraine would transfer to
Israel the remains of
Rabbi Nachman of
Bratslay.
It emerged that Herzog
had responded to the ap-
proaches of a maverick
figure in fervently Or-
thodox haredi circles.
Rabbi Nachman's grave,
in the town of Uman,
serves as the focus of
Bratslav Hasidim, who
have never had another
rebbe since Nachman
died. "
The World Council of
Bratslav Hasidim called
on Herzog to admit that
his announcement had
flowed from a mistaken or
misled appreciation of the
facts.
There was no comment
from Ukranian president
Leonid Kravchuk or his
entourage. But knowl-
edgeable Israeli
observers said he, too,
like the hasidim, wants
Rabbi Nachman to re-
main in his present res-
ting place, since
pilgrimages to the site are
growing into a major local
industry...
Herzog's overture to
Kravchuk, according to
presidential aides, follow-
ed an approach to the
Israeli president by
Yisrael Dov Odessar,
Modern Hasidim are not unlike followers of Rabbi Nachman.
whom the aides referred
to as " the rabbi pf the
Bratslav community."
But the Bratslav Hasidic
council dismissed
Odessar as irrelevant, and
Rabbi Yehoshua Heschel
Frankel, elder of the
community in Jerusalem,
told the Jewish Tele-
graphic Agency: "He is
worthless; he represents
no one: not even himself."
Other haredi sources
told JTA that Odessar has
claimed for years to own a
letter from Rabbi
Nachman which was
delivered to him in a
dream.
These sources voiced
amazement that Herzog
could have made a public
statement, at a state
dinner, on the strength of
corresponding and
meeting with Odessar
without ascertaining his
credentials.
Rabbi Nachman's story
will always influence
Rabbi Nachman
remains a
frequently quoted
Chasidic sage.
Chasidic lore and his para-
bles and allegorical tales
will influence Jewish think-
ing whenever they are
quoted. The Encyclopedia of
Judaism edited by Geoffrey
Wigoder interestingly calls
attention to Rabbi
Nachman's story; it also in-
cludes some of his
aphorisms. In that collection
there is one which could
have been copied 200 years
later by Franklin D.
Roosevelt, who urged fellow
citizens to remember that,
"There's nothing to fear but
fear itself." As Nachman of
Bratslav framed it: "The
whole world is like a narrow
bridge and the main thing is
not to be afraid." The en-
cyclopedic entry reads, in
part:
Hasidic leader; great-
grandson of Israel Ba'al
Shem Tov and founder of
a separate branch of the
Hasidic movement. As a
young man, he estab-
lished himself in the
Ukraine, exercising the
role of tsaddik, and the
pilgrimage which he
made to Erets Israel in
1798-9 was later clothed
with mystical
significance.
Though terminated
abruptly as a result of
Napolean's • campaign
against . the Turks, this
visit made a lasting im-
pression on Nachman,
who was fond of saying,
"No matter where I go, it
is always to Erets Israel."
Believing that he was
destined to revive the
authentic Hasidism of his
great ancestor, and to
combat insincere leader-
ship within the move-
ment, Nachman became
embroiled in controversy
almost as soon as he
returned to the Ukraine.
His revolutionary fervor
struck other Hasidic
leaders of the time as
sheer presumption...
He finally left Bratslav
for Uman in the Ukraine,