Weekly Dvar Torah: The Books and the People of the Book

On Thursday 5th of Teiveis (December 9, 2021), we celebrate the victory of the Books.

35 years ago (1985/6), there was a case in front of judge Sifton in the supreme court, about the status of the valuable library created by the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, R’ Yosef Yitzchock Schneerson OBM. First in Russia, then in Poland and later in America.

The dispute was about the ownership of the library, was it a private collection, or was it the property of the Lubavitch movement.

So you say, okay, many estates are contested, so what’s the big deal to celebrate a victory over a financial dispute? Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

Chasidim know, that everything that plays out here in the mundane material world, is really a reflection of much deeper and more meaningful discussions with consequences that effect the spirit and the soul of the issues at hand.

One side argued, that the previous Rebbe was an ordinary human being like all other human beings, and when he passes on, he left an estate which should be divided amongst the legal heirs.

The Rebbe argued, that a Rebbe is not a private person at all, and that his entire existence is all about community, and therefore when a Rebbe collected books to create a library, it was all about the community and exclusively for the community, a Rebbe does not amass a library for the purpose of acquiring wealth for himself and his family.

The lawyers presented to the Rebbe, that there were many documents and receipts to prove that the books were bought from public funds to build a Lubavitch community library, and that many of the books were donated to the library for this purpose.

However, the Rebbe argued, that the most important document to prove community ownership of the library, was a letter written by the previous Rebbe which stated that this library was the property of the community.

So according to the Rebbe, the word of the previous Rebbe is absolute, and should suffice to award the library to the community.

The other side argued, that this specific letter didn’t mean much, since it was written for the purpose of receiving community help to save his private library from Europe, and the Rebbe had to overstate his case in order to guarantee such help, but that this was not the absolute truth.

Judge Sifton, in his ruling, accepted the Rebbe’s argument, and he acknowledged the position that when the previous Rebbe wrote that this is a community library, this was the absolute truth, and therefore this should suffice to award the library to the Lubavitch community, and not to the family heirs.

“It does not make much sense that a man of the character of the sixth Rebbe would … mean something different than what he says” wrote the judge in his ruling, awarding the library to the community.

Why is this so important? Why is this so central to the core essence of what a Rebbe is to the Lubavitch community and to the world?

A Rebbe is plain and simple not a private person, as Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson OBM, the daughter of the previous Rebbe, and a legal heir, when asked during her deposition, did the books of the library of your father “belong to your father, or did they belong to the Chasidim?”, she responded; “they belonged to the Chasidim, because my father belonged to the Chasidim!”

The court decision basically ruled, that a Rebbe is not a private person, and that the character of a Rebbe is one of absolute truth!

This is of utmost importance for a Chosid to celebrate, of course we are happy that the estate of the Rebbe was not to be squandered by private people for purposes of value and wealth, but this is only a by-product of a recognition of the court, that a Rebbe is not just another person and that his belongings are not his private property.

At the heart of this matter is that a Rebbe is all about us and for us, his library is there for us, and at the core of the library is the fact that books are what a Rebbe is all about, it’s his Torah and his teachings that live on in his library, as the Rebbe elaborated during the trial, that the Rebbe continues to live within us through his library, because the content of the books in the library are his true life.

This trial is a blessing in disguise, we learned to appreciate, and confirmed by the court, that even 35 years after his passing, which was the case in 1985 when the trial started, the Rebbe continues to live on in the books, and therefore there is no room for inheritance by family heirs, because his physical and material life on this earth is not the center of his life, the true life of a Rebbe is spiritual and in his Torah and his books.

After all, aren’t we the people of the book?

How lucky are we to know that we will always have a Rebbe, because our Rebbe is absolute truth, and is all about the Torah that he teaches us through his books, and through the books he continues to live on in our midst.

And this is something to celebrate.

Open those books and use them,
Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Yosef Katzman