On Monday, Iyar 5759, Nazi forces entered France in a special operation that ended the period of the sham war between Germany and France. The German army broke through the French defenses on the Meuse River. The campaign ended with the surrender of the French army, and Hitler became the master of the European continent.
Upon entering Paris, the Germans announced in an order a meticulous registration of all residents. The goal was clear, this way they could establish order and know who was present and who was hiding. Thousands of Wehrmacht soldiers deployed on the streets of the capital and distributed mandatory ballot papers to all residents.
The Jews of France were embarrassed. On the registration sheets, residents had to clearly indicate their religion, race, and nationality. Above all, the Jews knew what the oppressor's goal was - to oppress them, to take their property, and in the future, to expel them from the country and kill them.
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
The Jews thought and brainstormed what to do. Some believed that it was permissible to change for the sake of peace and not mention Jewish affiliation. Ephus, a young rabbi who lived there, the son-in-law of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, thought differently. To everyone who asked him, he gave clear instructions: one must not be ashamed of Judaism, one is not harmed by Jewish truth.
This was the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, who lived at that time in France, which was under Nazi occupation, but continued in his sacred service and the dissemination of Torah as he always has.
When the Nazis raided the Rebbe's residence and questioned and interrogated the Rebbetzin Eshet Hever, may God have mercy on her, the Rebbetzin wisely indicated under the nationality the word "Orthodox," meaning pious and religious, but of course she did not indicate that they were Jews, in order to prevent any danger.
The Rebbe, who was not at home at the time, returned home late in the evening and discovered what the Rebbetzin had written. Upon hearing these words, he got up and left the house.
To the Rebbetzin's surprise, where was he going? The Rebbe said: "I am Jewish and I am not ashamed of it. I am going to the German registration office to correct the mistake and declare my Jewishness.".
While he was speaking, the Rebbe was already down the street, running as fast as his soul could to correct the 'mistake', which could possibly lead him and his family to disaster.
The officials were astonished. While all French Jews avoid signing their Jewish identity, a Jew comes here and aggressively asks to change his Orthodox identity and clearly write "Nationality: Jewish.".
•
And so the Lubavitcher Rebbe, may God have said, would demand what is written in our parasha: "This is the law of the Torah," and supposedly why the law of the Torah was written, and he would have said the law of the transgression. Rather, the Torah hints to us that a mitzvah, every mitzvah, has a matter of law in it and is against the whole Torah.
Explanation: It is stated in the Torah collections from the old Rebbe, the author of the Tanya, that the word "hukat" is connected to the root "hukqah." There are two forms of writing, in ink on parchment and in stone. The difference between them is simple: when a person writes in ink on paper, he creates a connection between two foreign things - the ink and the paper. However, when a person engraves words in stone, the letters are not a foreign thing, but an inseparable part of the stone.
This is legislation. It symbolizes the connection and connection without any possibility of separation. That is why the commandments are defined as laws, "the laws of God and His teachings," because the pure connection between God and the Jews is a supreme connection of a part of God from above, and it is not driven by reason and emotion, but by the observance of the commandments, which in this show the connection between Israel and God. A legislative constitution and you are not allowed to ponder it.
That is why the Torah specifically used the language of the Torah's constitution, to teach us that the commandments of God are laws that connect the Jew to God, in an unbreakable bond with which there is no separation at all. And this is what the Sages said and quoted by the holy Rashi: "Since Satan and the nations of the world are trying to persuade Israel to say what this commandment is and what is the point in it, therefore it is written as a constitution. It is a decree from before me, and you have no permission to reflect on it.".
It is found that the Constitution is the difference between the nations of the world and Israel. That the nations of the world try to understand the commandment, but the people of Israel are connected without the possibility of separation.
•
The rabbi of Paris, the late Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Rubinstein, author of 'Shearit Menachem', who worked during the Holocaust on issues of Halacha, kashrut, education, the permission of agunot, and more, spent his entire life telling stories about those days of life under the shadow of the Nazis.
The Gaon said: "In the month of Tishrei 5751, the Lubavitcher Rebbe approached me and asked me how much dedication is required to perform a bar mitzvah. We argued back and forth, and at the end of the discussion I told him that performing a bar mitzvah has nothing to do with dedication.
""But the Rebbe did not give up. On the eve of Sukkot, he came to me with two exquisite Yanve etrogs. He crossed the border into Italy and returned with the exquisite etrogs, with Lubavitch blessings on them. The Rebbe explained that precisely in these days of crisis and war, it is important to enhance the mitzvah even more.
""The dedication that the Lubavitcher Rebbe demonstrated in those years," the Gaon later praised, "insisting on preserving Jewish identity even in times of chaos, is an example of dedication for every Jew.".
In his words, the Gaon explained what is written about Mordechai the Jew, "There was a Jewish man in Shushan the capital," and apparently what the emphasis is in Shushan the capital, and explained that some are Jews in their homes and some demonstrate Judaism in the synagogue. Indeed, Mordechai the Jew demonstrated his Judaism on the streets of the city. He was not ashamed of his Judaism. There was a Jewish man in Shushan the capital.
It was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, whose special closeness I was granted as a free gift, and who instructed me all the days to stand guard and connect the souls of Israel to their Father in Heaven.
• The column was published in the weekly community magazine
