Blog: The Rebbe’s Surprising Thoughts on Prison

In honor of Aleph’s upcoming auction, which I encourage all of you to participate in, I thought it would be appropriate to present an overview of the Rebbe’s efforts in helping Jewish prison inmates.

In the Beginning…

The first time the Rebbe seems to have focused on reaching out to Jewish prisoners was in 1977 (Sichos Kodesh 1977 volume 1 page 552).

The Rebbe spoke about the need to make sure they have a joyous Purim and that they be able to do the mitzvah of matanos le’evyonim (giving charity to the needy). The problem was that prisons do not allow any money to be given to the inmates. The Rebbe’s advice was to give them money to immediately be put into a tzedaka (charity) box, and then, upon exiting the prison, to distribute these monies to the poor, ostensibly as the shlichei mitzva (proxy messengers) of the prisoners.

Intriguingly, the Rebbe declared that there are no poor people in jail, since, all their basic needs are met. It’s unclear if the Rebbe meant this statement with the full authority of halacha, and that, as a result, a prisoner cannot fulfill matanos le’evyonim by giving charity to a fellow inmate, or whether he meant this in a more colloquial manner.

My father, Rabbi Shlomo Schwartz (Schwartzie), experienced this himself. One Purim, as he was giving out the coins to the inmates for placement in the tzedaka box, all the inmates started yelling:

“Johnny didn’t put the coin in! He clinked the quarter to the lip of the box and it sounded like it went in – but it didn’t! Check him Rabbi. Pat him down!”

My dad, needless to say, wasn’t too eager to pat down a 6-foot bulky tattooed inmate and let the “offense” slide.

A few weeks later (Ibid. p. 568), the Rebbe mentioned this initiative again and suggestively added that, he “heard rumors” there are Jews in jail. The Rebbe said that they can fulfill the mitzva of mishloach manos (sending food-items to a friend)  through one inmate giving food to another.

The Rebbe also explained why he was emphasizing visiting prisoners so much, as they are the most destitute and lonely people.

The Rebbe, showing great compassion and human understanding, emphasized again and again that it’s important to tell the prisoners that they are, in many ways, not that different than those that walk around freely.

And he added, interestingly enough , that doing mitzvos with them helps give them this feeling. Perhaps the Rebbe felt that the performance of the mitzvah would uplift their spirits in the sense that mitzvot give a heightened sense of dignity and grace to a Jew. Or, perhaps this idea was more psychologically driven, as in, by asking the inmate to do mitzvot there is an implicit assumption of normalicy being granted to the inmates in that they too, can do mitzvot, and are no different.

Finally, the Rebbe said, this can help influence the jail to shorten their sentence. Apparently, the Rebbe was pro shortening jail sentences for good behavior.

Strategically, the Rebbe gave some guidelines for interacting with prisons, saying that, a prison reluctant to allow Rabbis to visit the inmates, should be told that other prisons have done so to great effect (Sichos Kodesh 1978, 13th of Nissan subsection 23).

Was there any validity to the fear of Rabbis being influenced by the environment of the prison? It seems the Rebbe thought there was some merit to that, and cautioned his followers not to stay overnight in jail due to the depressive atmosphere (Kfar Chabad Issue #1373 p. 41).

The Rebbe also critiqued prisons that take away a basic sense of dignity and self-control from the inmates (Sichos Kodesh 1969, volume 2, p. 265). He articulated two reasons (from a secular perspective, see later contrasting Torah’s approach on prison) for placing someone in jail:

1. To prevent him from harming others. What is commonly known as the Utilitarian and rehabilitative approach.

2. To punish him. What is commonly known as the Retributivist approach.

“What need is there to take watches away from prisoners?”, the Rebbe exclaimed. “What is the value in not even letting them know when it is day or night? These are practices that take away all manner of self-control and self-dignity from prisoners!”

Are Jails Kosher?

Is there value in having jails?

The Rebbe’s position on this was nuanced and, overall, one of cautious acceptance (Toras Menachem 1950 p. 195. See also Sichos Kodesh 1978 Vol. 1 p. 612 and on).

The Rebbe called attention to the fact that, from a Torah perspective, there is no mechanism of punishment known as jail.

Why is this?

To the Rebbe, it was a result of the very different conceptual framework the Torah embraces.

To put someone in jail, particularly for life, is to dehumanize them, in the sense that, they are robbed of all their potential, purpose and mission in life.

Admittedly, the Rebbe explained, it is a necessary evil, to protect society from the harm that this individual might do; but it is a terrible necessity.

But, to the Torah, it is anathema to sacrifice one man’s entire life purpose for the good of the many.

The Rebbe, (in Sichos Kodesh 1978 p. 616) notwithstanding his misgivings about the severity of jail, even deeming it in some ways worse than death, seems to defer to America’s embrace of the prison system.

In another instance (Sichos Kodesh Vol. 1 p. 669), the Rebbe expressed himself in more spiritual terms, claiming that, the very fact that we have jails nowadays is because of yeridas hadoros (the low spiritual level of the present generation).

Lastly, the Rebbe made clear, in no uncertain terms, that once someone leaves jail, he is utterly and absolutely ‘rehabilitated’, and there should be no remaining stigma associated to him. In support of this embracing compassionate position, the Rebbe cited a plethora of sources, among them the Rashi in Parshas Chukas (25:3) that states, once a man is given lashes, he exits this punishment as “your brother” and is as a newborn babe.

The Rebbe, not atypically, was an innovator and thought leader to the last, constantly pushing the envelope, and always seeking new ways to spread love, acceptance and authentic Torah and mitzvot to all, no matter where they might be.

If you wish to help support Aleph, the organization that took up the Rebbe’s call on this initiative, you can purchase tickets for their auction here: http://www.alephauction.org/chabad2.php?shliach=594.