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Two letters of the Rebbe to Sephardic individuals of Sephardic descent, highlighting the communities special traditions

Of Pure Sefardic Descent

Rabbi Cunin duly conveyed to me your kind regards, letter and good wishes, which I sincerely appreciate.

I can best reciprocate your good wishes by reiterating the Divine blessing given to our Father Abraham, “I will bless them that bless thee.” Accordingly, may you and all your family enjoy G- d’s blessings in a generous measure, both materially and spiritually.

It is surely unnecessary to emphasize to you at length how much Sefardic families cherish their distinguished Sefardic tradition, especially those of Priestly (Kohanim) descent, as in your case. I am fairly certain that your father Eliahu, of blessed memory, and his ancestors, proudly added to their signature ס”ט, which, according to one interpretation, means ספרדי טהור pure Sefardic descent. May G-d grant that this golden chain of tradition will be continued through your children and children’s children to the coming of Moshiach Tzidkenu.

The Zechus of your active involvement in the work of spreading Yiddishkeit, especially through the Chabad-Lubavitch institutions and activities, will certainly stand you and all yours in good stead.

(Letters from the Rebbe (OSL, 1998) Vol. 3, p. 136)

Marrying a Second Wife

Your letter reached me with some delay.

You write that you have been married for the past fourteen years but have not been favored with children and that lately your wife had to undergo an operation which made it impossible for her to bear children. Inasmuch as in your country there is no objection to take another wife and you are 48 years old, you ask my opinion what to do under the circumstances, especially as your wife must remain ignorant of her condition in order to spare her the shock; or perhaps you ought to give up the idea of having children because of your mutual attachment to each other.

In my opinion you ought to obtain express permission from your local Sephardic Rabbanim to marry another wife, which I, an Ashkenazi, cannot do anything for you in this respect. However, as you write in your letter, there should be no difficulty for you to receive such official sanction.

You should however, prepare your wife mentally by explaining to her:

It is explained in our holy books, especially in the books of Cabalah, that although everyone must do one’s best to fulfill the mitzvah of Piria v’ribia, there are circumstances whereby one is excused from it because one has a different mission in life on this earth. This is true of both men and women, but with women more frequently.

It is related in our holy Torah with regard to our Matriarchs that when a woman helps to raise and educate children in the spirit of the Torah, especially her husband’s children although from another wife, it is partly credited to her as though they are her own.

It would be a good idea to have a Sefer Torah written especially in your wife’s honor.

I trust that when you explain to your wife all the  above three points, she will find peace of mind and will give you her consent to take another wife. Then you should do so and may G-d help that it be  in a good and auspicious hour, and you should be favored with children who will be engaged in Torah and mitzvos and your present wife participate in their upbringing in the way of Torah  and Yirat Shama’im.

It is no doubt needless to remind you about the greatness of the Mitzvah of Tzedakah, which is especially important in your case, a Tzedakah which is connected with educational institutions of  boys and girls Al taharat Hakodesh,

With blessing,

It would be a good practice, for both you and your wife, Bli-neder, to put aside each morning of a weekday a few francs for Tzedakah.

(The Letter and the Spirit, Vol 5 (Nissan Mindel Publications, 2019), p. 39) ■

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