To Rabbi Sholom DovBer of Lubavitch (Rashab) the issue was a matter of spiritual life and death. Throughout the conference, he railed the government’s plan. When he rose to speak, he publicly exposed the ministers who had threatened pogroms.
“True,” the Rebbe proceeded to declare: “We live under the dominion of the Russian regime. Their jurisdiction however, is restricted to material matters. It is not within the capacity of any power on earth to decree over matters of our faith.”
The Weekly Sedra – Pekudei – Mission Accomplished
In the year 1910, the czarist government convened a “rabbinical conference” – the aim of which was to enforce change concerning Jewish religious life. Prior to the meeting, participants were privately shown a list of 102 Jewish communities where pogroms were “likely” to “occur,” should the conference fail to produce the desired results.
To Rabbi Sholom DovBer of Lubavitch (Rashab) the issue was a matter of spiritual life and death. Throughout the conference, he railed the government’s plan. When he rose to speak, he publicly exposed the ministers who had threatened pogroms.
“True,” the Rebbe proceeded to declare: “We live under the dominion of the Russian regime. Their jurisdiction however, is restricted to material matters. It is not within the capacity of any power on earth to decree over matters of our faith.”
