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1. Can someone please translate this interview into English and publish it as an article? I would love to know the story, and my Yiddish isn’t good enough to understand the podcast.

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2. Interview with Rabbi Yosef Braun, Crown Heights Beis Din

   1. Opening

   Host: This week is Parshas Shoftim, the parsha that tells us, “Judges and officers you shall appoint in all your gates.” In Chassidus it is explained that the verse goes beyond the plain meaning about Eretz Yisroel. It also applies in a simple, practical way. It surely includes the idea that in every generation there must be a shofet, a judge. Chassidus speaks at length about the precious love that Hashem has for the Jewish people, that only Yisroel is worthy of Hashem, and specifically through mishpat, justice. The maamarim on Shoftim dwell on justice and judgment at length. In a fitting time, Erev Shabbos Mevorchim Av, we are sitting with the great scholar, one of the leading poskim of our generation, the head of the Crown Heights Beis Din, Rabbi Yosef Braun shlit”a. We want to bring out a little about mishpat, halacha, and some present day guidance, halacha along the path of Chassidus.

   Rabbi Braun: The name of Hashem is halacha, along the derech of Chassidus. I will lift this up now. We will enter Chassidus, which is the king in Torah. Amen.

   2. Did the Rebbeim involve themselves with halacha

   Host: Over the generations the Rebbeim devoted themselves to transmitting the inner dimension of Torah, the living bond, Chassidus. Did they also involve themselves in the particulars of halacha.

   Rabbi Braun: Yes. It is an interesting matter. If you look closely you will see the differences from one Rebbe to the next. From generation to generation there are noticeable changes. One generation emphasizes one thing, another generation emphasizes something else.

   3. The Alter Rebbe’s innovation

   Rabbi Braun: Let us begin with the Nesiim of Chabad and the Alter Rebbe. The Alter Rebbe wrote Shulchan Aruch HaRav. This is a complete Shulchan Aruch, not a commentary from which one cannot issue rulings. It lays down halacha together with the reasons. This was a big innovation in the world of halacha. People thought halacha means do this, do that. Here you are shown the taam, the reason. You learn and see why this is stringent, why that is lenient, and you can write a Shulchan Aruch that is clear and reasoned. The Alter Rebbe also wrote many responsa in halacha, kuntrusim and answers.

   Sometimes we sat together and noticed that certain halachic topics were not widely publicized. Chassidus became famous, people searched there, yet from the Rebbeim you can see how much strength they possessed in nigleh. Great minds. It simply was not always publicized, though there are piskei dinim that were written.

   4. The Tzemach Tzedek and a flowering of halacha

   Rabbi Braun: In the next generation there was a tremendous flowering in halacha. The Tzemach Tzedek wrote many responsa. A great novelty of the Tzemach Tzedek is an order reminiscent of the Beis Yosef. He arranges halachos, halacha after halacha, across the breadth of Torah. You see how he brings it into reality in his rulings. There was a kind of harmony between the Beis Yosef and the Tzemach Tzedek.

   With the Rebbe Maharash you see less that is explicitly halachic. The Tzemach Tzedek had already established halacha. The Rebbe Rashab also appointed rabbonim and wrote halachos. The Frierdiker Rebbe instituted takanos. Even when he was ill he enacted takanos with great strength. The Frierdiker Rebbe also wrote halachic guidance. In all of them you can see the guiding line of Chassidus carried through demanding matters.

   5. The Rebbe’s system for halacha today

   Rabbi Braun: In the later generation, by the Rebbe, you see how he set the headings and returned us to halacha and to nigleh in general, and to halacha in particular. He appointed rabbonim and established halachic bodies. I have written about this. You can see everywhere that there were changes and growth. The rabbonim were clear about it.

   The Rebbe addressed rabbonim and halacha in general, and urged that questions be sent to rabbonim. He did not always wish to involve himself directly when there were competent rabbonim who could rule.

   I will share a story. Once there was a question about a bris milah that had been delayed beyond the eighth day. Could it be made on Thursday when there was concern about issues that would come with Shabbos. We sought out a rav to rule. I sent the question in the name of the Tzemach Tzedek to increase the weight of the inquiry, but really we were looking for a rav to decide. In some places there were arguments and it became complicated, but the point was clear. The Rebbe wanted rabbonim to rule.

   6. When the Rebbe intervened

   Rabbi Braun: There were exceptions. When it came to serious prohibitions that people did not realize, there were times the Rebbe intervened. There was the case with the Israeli boats, the company “Tzim.” The Rebbe argued that this was a clear desecration of Shabbos. It was not an abstract or technical matter. It was real chilul Shabbos. He fought with the Israeli government over this, saying the shipping schedules were a chilul Shabbos. He sent word to rabbonim. He said this is an actual chilul Shabbos in the way the lines and ports operate. Through Rav Strashun and others the matter came before rabbonim. The Rebbe said, do not let it pass. It was addressed.

   There were other cases. For example, he pressed regarding a medical treatment in a Spanish hospital. In some eastern neighborhoods people were selling on Shabbos, and measures were needed. There were issues about people buying houses in Crown Heights and selling them to non-Jews, matters that could lead to ongoing aveiros. The Rebbe treated these as pressing halachic issues.

   He also urged setting fixed times for Torah study. He drew attention to counting the Omer and to Shemittah. It was a novelty that the Rebbe held we must address these things even if the generation does not tend to them. With minhagim there was no novelty for novelty’s sake. He strengthened Torah and mitzvos, the lighting of Shabbos candles, chinuch for children, and similar things, all on a halachic basis.

   7. Minhag on a halachic footing, and trusted rabbonim

   Rabbi Braun: The Rebbe wished to strengthen minhagim too, and he stressed their halachic foundations. If something was already written and clear he did not present it as a new chassidic innovation. He anchored it in halacha. This was progress. The Rebbe set things on a halachic footing.

   The Rebbe relied on specific rabbonim for practical questions. For example Rav Shlomo Yosef Zevin at certain times, later Rav Zalman Shimon Dvorkin, and then the Crown Heights rabbonim. There was a system, as he said, to appoint rabbonim. A chassidishe rav should be put in place.

   8. Why a chassidishe shochet sometimes came first

   Rabbi Braun: In earlier times there were fierce disputes in cities, quarrels and strife. The Tzemach Tzedek worked to strengthen Yiddishkeit and to get people to work together. The Chofetz Chaim was close with the Rebbe Rashab. The Rebbe Rayatz worked with Rav Chaim Ozer. There was cooperation with other rabbonim.

   When there was a big fight in a town, the misnagdim often wanted everything. The chassidim insisted that at least the shochet should be a chossid. There was a whole procedure, sometimes for years, to secure a chassidishe shochet. They understood that even if the head was not ours, the heart must be. The shochet is the heart of the household. Through the shochet the whole taste of Jewish life rests. Despite all, they remembered that a chassidishe shochet, even without a chassidishe rav, could preserve much.

   9. Taking the mantle of rabbonus

   Rabbi Braun: In many towns over many generations there were different arrangements, talmidim of the Tzemach Tzedek who served in rabbonus. The Rebbe Rashab established committees. Later the Rebbe Rayatz urged my father’s generation, chassidim of the Rebbe Rashab, that they should become rabbonim and set matters straight. They sent people across Russia to take positions. They spoke sharply that someone with ability should take a rabbonus. If you have the means and the learning you can serve Hashem and also shoulder the responsibility of the city.

   10. What is a chassidishe rov

   Rabbi Braun: Practically, a rav must be both chassidish and rooted in the poskim. He must keep chassidish practices yet build them on clear halachic reasoning. A minimum is that what he says should be written and sourced in the poskim. A chassidishe rov also looks at spiritual sensitivity. He is a baal nefesh, he guards himself with stringencies. He looks at the sefarim and gives weight to the needs of people. He watches that leniencies are for the sake of another Jew, not for personal convenience. He asks, what is the goal. In every halacha who is the goal. What outcome does the Torah seek. He does not jump to forbid out of fear or reputation. He thinks about what Hashem truly wants here. That is the chassidishe rav, the finest kind, who lets Hashem’s honor be seen in the world.

   11. Is halacha boring to learn

   Host: People say learning halacha is boring. Tosafos can be exciting, halacha feels dry. How can one teach halacha to children and bochurim.

   Rabbi Braun: I am the last person who would ever tell someone to stop learning Chassidus. On the contrary. Precisely someone who lives with Chassidus should feel delight in Hashem’s will, which is halacha. The same Master of the world who gave Chassidus gave halacha. One who is dedicated to Hashem’s will finds the taste in “this is Hashem’s will.” I was taught this as a child.

   Chazal say, “Eileh v’eileh divrei Elokim chayim,” both opinions are the words of the living G-d. How can that be if the halacha follows only one side. The answer from Chassidus uses the language of names of Hashem, lights and vessels. The light must enter the framework of a vessel. Halacha is that vessel. The light of Chassidus shines in the vessel of halacha. The will of Hashem becomes concrete in practice.

   One who learns Chassidus should therefore be more careful in halacha than anyone. This is stated explicitly in the sifrei Chassidus. The Rebbe showed this with children. He taught Chassidus in childlike language and made Rashi sichos, then he taught Chumash and Likkutei Sichos. Rashi contains the deepest secrets of Torah, yet it is for children. So too the soul of Torah expresses itself in halacha.

   12. Examples of halacha lived with Chassidus

   Rabbi Braun: He gave mussar using Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai as an example from nigleh, writing “sof al gabei yayin,” that the end must be clear and settled, and he separated from the group to sanctify Shabbos. One must know where to be stringent and where to be lenient. Chassidus is not of this world, yet the more a person is genuinely humble before Hashem, the more he will translate that into precise davening and precise conduct according to halacha.

   There were chassidim who davened for hours in deep avodah, then went into the street to put tefillin on a Jew. Some mocked them as simple. In truth this is a refined soul. A Chabad chossid speaks with the Rebbe, toils in avodah, then goes on shlichus to bring others close. The Rebbe wanted a bond with Moshiach, that we should bring Moshiach. For that he wanted more halacha, not less. There is no contradiction. Torah is beyond limits. Within that there are many aspects. The Rebbe empowered different people for different paths, some to teach, some to give, yet for all the foundation is bitul to Hashem. Then one can learn nigleh properly.

   He once spoke in yeshiva about the task of a yeshiva bochur. On one hand, to learn nigleh. On another hand, as a Chabad bochur, the main thing is also Chassidus. On a third plane the yeshiva is there to put tefillin on Jews. On a fourth plane the Rebbe Rashab said they must be “neiros leha’ir,” lights to illuminate others. Each of these stands as a main point. How can many things be the main point. When everything is given over to Hashem, each plane can be the main plane at its time, and there is no contradiction. One can live in Chassidus and in halacha. In halacha the light of Chassidus is expressed even more than in other parts of Torah.

   13. The Rebbe’s standards and kiruv

   Host: Because you were not born in Lubavitch, someone might think Chabad is only Chassidus and less halacha. It is important to hear what the Rebbe actually conveyed.

   Rabbi Braun: When the Rebbe came with full force, on one hand he spoke to every child and every issue. On the other, he did not compromise on Shulchan Aruch, every section to the end. Together with that he drew Jews close. He wrote strongly that you cannot bring someone close by setting aside Torah. You cannot put out a fire with gasoline. You must put it out with water. If someone says to bring Jews close by violating Shulchan Aruch, this is the opposite of closeness.

   To be a kanai is not to rage at people. It is to insist on the integrity of every Jew, every measure of Shulchan Aruch, the wholeness of the Land of Israel, the wholeness of the people of Israel, and the wholeness of the Torah of Israel. He did not yield on any of these.

   He quoted the previous Rebbe about Moshe Rabbeinu. Before doing anything Moshe looked in Shulchan Aruch, meaning he acted by halacha. The Rebbe said to always hold a siddur in hand. You could see this in every detail. There is the famous “Deh Heiliger Duv” story of three cups that correspond to thought, speech, and deed, and the gap one must bridge between thought and deed by chewing it over. Then you look in Shulchan Aruch. What was the Rebbe bringing out. That the Rebbe was a man of halacha, a Shulchan Aruch Jew. Every letter from the Rebbe was written as if on the pages of Shulchan Aruch. On Shabbos he guided exactly how to say l’chaim at a seudah, when to say a bracha acharona, how to conduct oneself.

   People saw him at farbrengens. After each farbrengen he called out that everyone should say the after-blessing. Someone once asked why he sometimes did not say l’chaim himself. They went in to ask. The Rebbe answered that at the seudah one must have cups, and he wanted to set that part of Shulchan Aruch straight. Every step was halachic.

   14. A Shabbos story and Kabbalas HaTorah

   Rabbi Braun: There is a known incident with one of the young men connected to Rabbi Yoel Kahn. He needed to leave to Japan around Shavuos. It was Friday night. He wanted to go in to the Rebbe. The Rebbe said, not before Shabbos morning. Then he said, come on Shabbos. He greeted him with “Good Shabbos, Good Yom Tov.” Later the Rebbe spoke about Kabbalas HaTorah. Even in such things his conduct was by halacha and by schedule. You could see the Rebbe’s letters of halacha. They were powerful. His daily conduct was halacha.

   15. Rambam and halacha as reality

   Rabbi Braun: He made an entire campaign on the Rambam’s halachos, including laws that relate to non-Jews. Halacha is reality. The world stands on halacha. By halacha one must learn all the laws of the Torah. There is a difference between learning with a style and learning all the halachos of the Torah. Many Jews took upon themselves to learn Rambam.

   Halacha means you take the world and bind it to halacha. The Rebbe did not just adapt the world to Torah. He made the world be Torah. Nature itself enters halacha. He showed how, when no one thought of it, the Shach and Tosafos already write about matters that place Torah above what people think reality is.

   He explained, following the Rambam’s foundations, that from one First Emanator come all positive commandments, and from one First Root come all prohibitions. Everything reflects the will of Hashem. The Rebbe looked at world issues through halacha. He rejected the idea of a separate “hashkafah.” If it is not halacha it is just an outlook. The great outlook is this. What is avodah. Tefillin is avodah. How do we look at avodah. Do not dismiss simple deeds. The Rebbe looked into Rambam for the order of geulah. If it is not in Rambam or Shulchan Aruch it is not our business. Shabbos in the days of Moshiach, how will it be. He wanted things arranged as in Shulchan Aruch. He paskened and did accordingly. Everything with halachic lenses.

   When it came to the Rebbe himself there was no dividing. Not this for halacha and that for something else. For the Rebbe, halacha was the word of Hashem. Anything else takes away from the essential thing. Everything had to be according to halacha. Even the highest chassidic inyanim and davening, he demanded Shulchan Aruch. He often quoted, “Yachshov meromemus haKel u’shiflus ha’adam,” classic Chassidus, yet he insisted that this is how one must daven according to Shulchan Aruch. He found a source in halacha for everything. He said there is a source for each word, even the date, as the Rambam writes in a letter. Every thing was seen with halachic eyes.

   16. Let rabbonim pasken

   Rabbi Braun: Therefore, when people came to the Rebbe he did not give a halachic ruling if there was a competent rav to do so. The reality is, one saw by the Rebbe a consistency of Shulchan Aruch in everything. He told others to live daily life according to Shulchan Aruch. Every movement, every moment, had to be according to halacha.

   He spoke about what will be when Moshiach comes. The task of Moreh Horaah in Israel, “yoreh mishpatecha l’Yaakov.” What will be the work when Moshiach comes. How will the coming of Moshiach be realized. There is no contradiction. The judges and officers will be restored. The main preparation for Moshiach is to restore the crown of halacha, for the courts to judge as of old. In our country, in the Land of Israel, this stands very strongly, to make the state a state of halacha. But it is not only about a state. It is to make the world a world of halacha. The air will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem like water covers the sea.

   The Rebbe wanted rabbonim to pasken, to decide matters soundly. When there was a need he sent questions to them. He believed in the power of rabbonim and encouraged them to rule. There were those who wanted the Rebbe to overrule rabbonim. He did not do so. He could have said something else. He did not. He supported halachic process. Some pressed him. He told them, do not. Leave it to the rabbonim. Let rabbonim pasken. The community must be sanctified through halacha. Judaism is built this way. The best of the rabbonim must rule. The world must hear, but through halacha.

   Therefore I am careful not to issue piskei din here for every question. People should have a rav. The kavod I have is to direct questions to rabbonim and let them answer. There is much laughter in the world and many needs, but I do not hand out piskei din lightly. Thank you very much.

   Host: If there are follow up questions, send them in writing. With Hashem’s help we will address them in the proper halachic way.

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