The Chasidic UN
The Chassidic UN was founded by the Rebbe on Simchas Torah 5731 as a counter-response to the UN session that was hostile to Am Yisroel.
Background of its Establishment[edit | edit source]
During Sukkos 5731, a conference of UN member state representatives was held spanning an entire week, exactly during the days of Sukkos (between the first days of Yom Tov and Shabbos Bereishis) where among other things, the UN's position regarding Yehuda, Shomron, and Gaza territories captured by the IDF in the Six Day War was discussed.
As a response to the conference decisions, already at the farbrengen on the second day of Sukkos, the Rebbe instructed that as a response to the conference decisions, gatherings should be held from the side of kedusha, in order to influence the conference decisions. Since every Yid is a baal habayis in his place, at the Tzach gathering to be held during Chol HaMoed, the speakers would speak as baalei batim over the countries they came from, and at the end of the gathering decisions would be made by the baalei batim of the countries.
And so it was - the decisions that were accepted concerned Jews in Russia, concerning the coming of Moshiach, and other decisions.
On the night of Simchas Torah before hakafos, the Rebbe delivered a holy sicha whose content was that there is no reason to worry about the conference decisions since "He Who sits in heaven will laugh, Hashem will mock them" and therefore also their "rage" and "plotting" is "empty" (language of the posuk) and will accomplish nothing.
Following the sicha, the Rebbe called the baalei batim of the four major powers ("meine groiser fir") - England (Rabbi Bentzion Shemtov), United States (Rabbi Shmuel Levitin), France (Rabbi Yosef Goldberg) and Russia (Rabbi Yehuda Butershvili (Kulasher)) - and also the baal habayis over Eretz Yisroel (Rabbi Chaim Shalom Segal), to receive mashke to distribute to the crowd, saying there would be "LaYehudim haysa orah v'simcha v'sasson vikar" very soon.
After appointing baalei batim over the four powers, the Rebbe said that the order in the world is that after the arrival of the major powers, the smaller countries also come. And instructed that all the baalei batim over all the countries should say l'chaim.
After they said l'chaim, he said that the order is that after all countries arrive, the "chairman" raises a proposal for vote, and everyone votes on it, and when there is unanimous agreement, so shall it be. Therefore they would now decide that Am Yisroel is truth, that the Torah is truth, and that "Hashem Elokim Emes" and "Emes Havaya L'olam," and therefore the whole world must conduct itself according to Toras Emes.
After the vote the Rebbe said (in essence): Since the order in the world is that after the vote they go to a performance, therefore now they would have a performance and one of the baalei batim would do a 'kuleh', and indeed the baal habayis over England (Rabbi Bentzion Shemtov) immediately did a 'kuleh'.
After hakafos on Shemini Atzeres, at the seudah in the Frierdiker Rebbe's house, the Rebbe expressed that this matter is not a joke, since if it were just a joke he would not have done it in the presence of Sifrei Torah.
The next day - on Shemini Atzeres before Mincha, the baalei batim of the four powers (England, United States, France and Russia) and the baal habayis over Eretz Yisroel approached the Rebbe and announced that by virtue of their position as baalei batim over the countries, they hereby appoint the Rebbe as baal habayis over the entire world.
President Shazar's Visit[edit | edit source]
During President Shazar's visit in 5733, the Rebbe told him: Here is the real UN - not in the glass room in Manhattan but here. Then the Rebbe pointed to Rabbi Sholom Eidelman, from the shluchim in Morocco who was present, saying he is our representative in Morocco...
Member Countries and Representatives[edit | edit source]
- Holy Land - Reb Chaim Shalom Segal
- Russia - Reb Yehuda Butrashvili (Kulshar)
- Finland and Baltic States - Reb Chaim Mordechai Isaac Hodakov, head of the Rebbe's secretariat
- Egypt - Reb Shmaryahu Gurary (since he visited Egypt with the Frierdiker Rebbe), son-in-law of the Frierdiker Rebbe and director of Tomchei Temimim Yeshivas
- United States - Reb Shmuel Levitin - head mashpia of the central Tomchei Temimim Yeshiva and elder Chabad chossid
- France - Reb Yosef Goldberg - head of Tomchei Temimim Yeshiva in Brunoy
- England - Reb Bentziyon Shemtov - shadar in England
- Other European Countries - Reb Binyamin Eliyahu Gorodetzky, the Rebbe's representative in Europe
- Australia - Reb Abba Pliskin
- Brazil - Reb Tzvi Hirsh Chitrik, formerly served as shliach in Brazil
- Hungary - Reb Tzvi Meir Steinmetz
- Iraq - Reb Yitzchak Yadgar - the Rebbe's shliach to the Tanakim settlements in the Holy Land
- Yemen - Reb Zechariah Guri - rav of Moshav Avital in the Holy Land
- Germany - Reb Avrohom Yitzchak Glick, traveling shliach in Europe
- South Africa - Reb Yosef Weinberg, shadar who also visited South Africa
- Argentina - Reb Refael Tawil
- Canada - Reb Yitzchak Hendel
- Morocco - Reb Yehuda Leib Raskin - the Rebbe's shliach to Morocco
- Tunisia - Reb Refael Wilshansky - secretary of the European Lubavitch office
- Mexico - Reb Shalom Shabbat
- Denmark - Rabbi Avrohom Osdoba- Rav and member of Crown Heights Beis Din
- Belgium - Reb Chaim Aryeh Silberstein
- Romania - Reb Zalman Abelsky - the Rebbe's shliach and Chief Rabbi of Moldova
- Poland - Reb Moshe Pinchas Katz - head gabbai of 770
Further Reading[edit | edit source]
- "By the Rebbe we saw actual revelation of G-dliness", interview with Reb Yosef Yitzchak Gopin describing the events of establishing the 'UN' in Kfar Chabad magazine issue 1878 page 31