The question had been simmering beneath the surface for some time, but it burst into public attention when an Israeli named Binyamin Shalit attempted to register his ethnicity as Jewish while leaving his religion unspecified. Read about the tragic and contentious issue and the Rebbe’s involvement in Mihu Yehudi.
A Chassidisher Derher
Sir Patrick Geddes was a wealthy Scottish biologist, sociologist, and pioneering town planner who supported the Jewish people and was an early enthusiast for the Zionist cause. So, when a new up-and-coming town was to be built near Yaffo— soon to be famous as Tel Aviv—he was asked to design the city.
This designer of Tel Aviv raised his children devoid of any religion; he taught them to worship “humanity” and seek the betterment of society, regardless of race or creed. So, when his granddaughter Ann began a relationship with an Israeli named Binyamin Shalit, the family did not oppose the match. When Binyamin finished his studies in Scotland, they returned to Eretz Yisroel together and started a family.
The problems began when Binyamin came to register his son in the government records. The law required a person to report his “religion” (Jew, Muslim, Christian etc.) and “ethnic group” (Arab, Jew etc.). Binyamin chose “nothing” for his son’s religion—he and his wife considered themselves atheists—and Jewish for “ethnic group.”
The registration officer refused. According to the directives of the Ministry of Interior, the designation of a Jew followed halacha; if one was not “religiously” Jewish, he could not be registered as “ethnically” Jewish either.
Shalit was deeply offended. He was an officer serving in the Israeli Navy; his children were being raised as part of the Jewish nation, and his wife was from a Zionist family. Her grandfather had even designed Tel Aviv! How dare the government not consider his children part of the Jewish people?
The story began to make headlines. Soon, it had reached all the way to the High Court.
The question of Jewish identity was always a hot topic of debate. According to law, every Jew had the right to immigrate to Eretz Yisroel and receive automatic citizenship. But who is a Jew? That was left undefined.
The Rebbe fought fiercely that only halacha determines Mihu Yehudi – who is a Jew.
It is difficult to overstate how painful an issue this was to the Rebbe. For many years, the topic of Mihu Yehudi was a staple of almost every farbrengen. After hours of sichos and maamarim, the Rebbe would launch into an impassioned talk about the recent events surrounding the issue, going on and on, sometimes for over an hour, from the depths of his heart, expressing his profound pain and disappointment that it hadn’t yet been corrected.
Chassidim related in the name of the Rebbetzin that there were several issues which turned the Rebbe’s beard white—and one of them was Mihu Yehudi. The Rebbe once expressed himself that “Mihu Yehudi hot mir gemacht a loch in hartz, it created a hole in my heart.”
Read the painful and dramatic history of this tragic controversy in this month’s article below.
Discussion
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