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By Rabbi Mordechai Menashe Laufer — Ashdod, Beis Moshiach Magazine

1. REACHING OUT TO THE DISENFRANCHISED

The Rambam: The children of these errant people and their grandchildren whose parents led them away and they were born among these Karaities and raised according to their conception, they are considered as children captured… for it is as if he was compelled”… it is appropriate to motivate them to repent and draw them to the power of the Torah with words of peace. (Hilchos Mamrim 3:3)

The Rebbe: In our generation, an orphaned generation… Jews are in such need of assistance. They are not “apikorsim” and not “minim,” they are nothing more than “captured children,” which is in the category of an onnus (one who is compelled by force)… therefore it is certain that they should be helped… this is the avoda of spiritual tzedaka. (Sefer HaShlichus, p. 68)

2. NOT TO DISTANCE THOSE NOT KEEPING SHABBOS

The Rambam: Similarly, it is not proper to distance those who desecrate the Shabbos and to treat them with disgust, but to bring them close and urge them to do the mitzvos. And our Sages of blessed memory already explained that the (rebellious) sinner, if he sinned willingly, when he comes to the Beis HaKnesses to pray, we accept him and we do not act towards him in a contemptuous manner… do not scorn the (rebellious) sinners of the Jewish people (posh’ei Yisroel) who come in secret to steal mitzvos. (conclusion of Maamar Kiddush Hashem)

The Rebbe: A quorum in shul where only less than ten are Shabbos observers and the rest are not, rachmana litzlan… my mind is not pleased by [applying] the law with zealotry in a place where it is entirely inappropriate… rather with the trait of going beyond the law (midas chassidus)… by his coming in there, he has the ability to correct matters in the order of the tefilla and the learning. (Likutei Sichos, vol. 9, p. 278)

3. FOREIGN WISDOMS

The Rambam: The fools have already written thousands of books, and many people who are great in years and not in wisdom have wasted all of their days in studying those books… This is the thing about which most of the world is in error, or [perhaps] everybody except for individual people, the remnants who G-d calls to… And this is the great disease and the evil that breeds disease, that everything that they find written in books they assume right away is the truth. (letter to Chachmei Marseilles)

The Rebbe: Regarding the question about studying in college or university and the like, there exists a severe prohibition and a danger to life (and danger to life is more severe [in halacha] than the prohibited) – because the entire atmosphere and outlook… is permeated with disbelief in the divine providence of Hashem… topics of minnus (apostasy) are studied there… The answer [to the famous “claim” that it won’t be harmful to him (or her)]… “Do not bring me to a situation of nisayon” (a spiritual trial). (Likutei Sichos vol 15, p 43)

4. IN DEFENSE OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE

The Rambam: If that is how the pillars of the world were punished… when they took up a few words [disparagingly] upon Adas Yisrael, all the more so… (how could he) let loose his tongue upon Jewish communities… and this man did not know that these are not rebellious sinners of their own free will, and Hashem will not desert them and He will not abandon them… “And He has not despised and has not abhorred the cry of the poor…” (letter of the Rambam)

The Rebbe: It is impossible to assess the greatness of the merit and quality of the entire Jewish people! And how is it possible to let forth slander against the children of HaKadosh Baruch Hu – the opposite of the legal ruling of Torah, the Torah of Truth, that each and every one (even if he ch’v proclaims the opposite)… wants to fulfill all of the mitzvos… and all the more so in this generation, when those who do not fulfill Torah and mitzvos are “like a captive child… who is like someone compelled by force,” and especially as even they are “filled with mitzvos like a pomegranate”… that HaKadosh Baruch Hu is prided and praised with the Jewish people. (sicha Parshas Shemos 5751)

5. CONTENT, NOT LANGUAGE

The Rambam: The works authored in whatever language they may be in are not measured except by their content. Speech is not [defined as] forbidden or permitted, desirable or repugnant, or even a mitzva to say it, due to the language it is spoken in, but only due to its content… If it is uplifting then it is an obligation to say it in whatever language it may be, and if its content is degrading then it is an obligation to avoid saying it in whatever it may be. (commentary to Avos)

The Rebbe: The language that they will learn in… that is not the main thing, but rather the effectiveness and plenitude in quantity and quality in the knowledge of the Torah and its mitzvos. (letter 15 Iyar 5728)

6. LIGHT UNTO THE NATIONS

The Rambam: [In a letter regarding his daily schedule, he describes returning home (after his work in the royal court) exhausted and famished]:

I find all of the hallways filled with people, gentiles and Jews among them… and I go out to treat them and write prescription notes and medical instructions for their illnesses… (Shu”T HaRambam, Pe’er Hador, 143)

The Rebbe: Lubavitch is a light unto the nations!… It spreads not only Judaism to Jews, but also humanitarianism, wisdom and knowledge etc, also to non-Jews… When they become aware of Lubavitch, they come close and see the spreading of wisdom and knowledge etc, which opens up the possibility of being able to discuss with them about righteousness, justice and humanitarianism, as consistent with… the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach etc. And we have seen clearly how this has led to actual benefits. (Sicha, summer 5745/1985, from unedited personal record)

7. THE SOURCE OF ALL MONEY

The Rambam: And it should become public knowledge in the world that whoever dedicates himself exclusively to serve Him, He will provide sustenance for him from a place that he never even considered. (Moreh Nevochim)

The Rebbe: Effort should be made… that the rabbonim in each and every place… should arrange “public sedarim”… As far as the question kessef minalan (where will we have the money from?) – it is an explicit verse, “To Me is the silver (kessef) and to Me is the gold, so says Hashem…!” … people (who) will be happy to participate in these expenses. (B’Tzeil HaChochma, p 331)

8. PUBLISHED WORKS UNDER VARYING CONDITIONS

The Rambam: Whoever finds in it room to question… should judge me favorably… especially as my heart is frequently preoccupied with the travails of the times… There are halachos whose explanations I wrote during my travels on the road, and some that I inscribed when I was on ships in the great sea… in addition to my studying other fields of knowledge… (commentary to Mishna, end Uktzin)

The Rebbe: The indices (mafteichos) were written at different times and under different living conditions, in a state of well-being and expansiveness and in a state of pressure and distress etc, and therefore there is no consistent approach to them… (letter of the Rebbe)

9. BENEFITS OF PUBLISHED WORKS

The Rambam: If the reader will slake his thirst even with one idea, he should give praise to Hashem… (Moreh Nevochim)

The Rebbe: There is a benefit in my citing sources… (which is why effort is made to cite sources in Likutei Sichos), so that even someone who does not agree with the content of what I said in the sicha, will in the meanwhile learn the subject matter brought in the sources – Mishna, Gemara, Medrash, Zohar, and also from Toras HaChassidus, starting with the Sefer HaTanya. (V’hachai Yitein el Libo, p. 35)

10. ERETZ YISRAEL

The Rambam: The finest of all the places in the world, and the most fertile… (Moreh Nevochim)

The Rebbe: The nation that resides in Zion, resides in Eretz Yisrael, a unique land of which there is no other like it – and we are not talking at all about the country [located] between the countries of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. (letter 12-13 Tammuz 5729)

11. PROPER SPEECH

The Rambam: This [power of] speech with the tongue is among the unique qualities of man, and a goodness that was bestowed upon him… therefore one should not use this goodness… for the lowest of the low and utter shamefulness. (Moreh Nevochim)

The Rebbe: I was dismayed… in regards to the style of his words in that he used certain expressions… aside from the fact that it is prohibited according to the Torah… it is antithetical to the work of our Rebbeim… (Igros Kodesh vol 18, p 489)

12. APPROACH TO LEARNING

The Rambam: Therefore it is proper for a person, when he encounters among their (i.e. the Sages) statements something which is contrary to logic according to his opinion, that he not place fault with those words but attribute the fault to his intellect (alone). And if he sees a parable from among their parables whose simple meaning is far from his understanding, it is proper for him to be very pained over the fact that he did not understand the matter, to the point that all these true teachings have become totally distant from him. (introduction to commentary on the Mishna)

The Rebbe: The approach to learning of a Chassid… that what is written in the sefer is good and true, and the mistake is within him and his knowledge. (Likutei Sichos vol 10, p 264)

13. PUBLISHED MATERIALS

The Rambam: And we know that anything that was authored in a book, be it correct or incorrect, will undoubtedly become publicized. (Iggeres Ha’shmad, letter to Chachmei Marseilles)

The Rebbe: A word that appears… in print – is for generations upon generations. (Igros Kodesh vol 2, p 32, 219)

14. NO QUESTIONS

The Rambam: And know this, that just as a blind man is saved by relying on the sighted person that he is following – as he is aware that he himself has no eyes – that he will guide him on the straight path… So too, it is proper for the general populace to place their reliance on the prophets who possess true eyes, and suffice with what they teach, namely that such a reasoning is true and the other reasoning is not true… And after the [era of] the prophets we have the wise men… (Iggeres Teiman)

The Rebbe: This question, certainly has an answer… However, the very fact that he has a question proves that… since, for a Chassid, there is no place for questions to begin with! (V’hachai Yitein el Libo, p. 35)

(Originally published in Beis Moshiach #1197)

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