Questioner: That should be
the question.
Rav Miller: Alright, so the
question has to be discussed -
but not here, you understand.
My point is that a question of
such importance has to be
discussed among our great
men. That's their job and you
can be sure it has been
discussed and it's being
discussed. And therefore they
are our parliament.
Let's say for example, the
Bobover Rav. He is a man with
a very good head and he is
very much interested in
people. If the Bobover Rav
doesn't come out and say “Go
out and protest”, it's a p'sak
that you shouldn't. The
Lubavitcher Rebbe is a very
great man and he knows all
about what's doing in Soviet
Russia. There's nobody who is
as conversant with conditions
in Russia as the Lubavitcher
Rebbe is. Nobody, even the
American intelligence, foreign
intelligence, does not know
what's doing in Russia as much
as the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I
can tell you this. Because, he
has his agents; the whole of
Russia is covered with his
agents. And he is in contact
with them constantly. And if
he didn't come out and say:
“Protest”, then it's a p'sak din
from one who is most
competent both from the
point of view of knowing the
facts and the point of view of
loving the Jewish people;
because he loves the people,
and also the point of view of
being a gadol, he's a gadol.
So, he's most competent.
Now, that's only the beginning
because there's a whole list of
great men in whom we have
full confidence. They know
the facts. Now, if they don't
say “go out”, it means it's a
p'sak din, because they're
responsible people. If they
felt that it was necessary or
useful, they wouldn't keep
quiet. We know that they're
the kind of people that
wouldn't keep quiet. And
therefore, if they do keep
quiet, it's a p'sak din. That's
why I asked if you have names
of authorities who sanctioned
this, come out with them,
let's hear!
Questioner: Well, okay. I
would say that the rabbis in
our community, the Sephardic
community, have endorsed
this.
Rav Miller: Rabbi Katzin came
out for it?
Questioner: I would say that
he authorized.
Rav Miller: It's either yes or
no. Did he or didn't he?
Questioner: He sympathized,
but +
Rav Miller: Sympathized is
something else. Did he say
you should demonstrate?
Questioner: He didn't say you
shouldn't.
Rav Miller: He didn't say you
shouldn't! So how can he keep
quiet in this important issue?
Questioner: But you're
criticizing those who have
demonstrated.
Rav Miller: Get me straight,
get me straight. Don't put any
twist in my words. I'm saying,
"Did Rabbi Katzin say you
should go out and do it? If it's
important, how can he keep
quiet?"
Question: Others have in the
community.
Rav Miller: So he didn't, so
he's off the question. Now,
who else?
Questioner: You cannot say
that the Lubavitcher Rebbe
from here knows what's going
on in Russia because Russia
has big secrets that nobody
knows.
Rav Miller: The Lubavitcher
Rebbe knows all the secrets. I
tell you, he knows all the
secrets. I know he knows
because he has his followers
in Russia. The headquarters of
Lubavitch up till recently was
in Russia and he has a lot of
very good people still there.
And when they come out -
they're coming out little by
little - and they tell what's
happening, they know.
They're organized and they
have contacts and they are
not saying anything about
making trouble for Russia.
Questioner: The people who
have left have said, as a
matter of fact. The people
who know a lot have said to
start trouble.
Rav Miller: The question is if
we'll take these people on one
side, and the Lubavitcher on
the other side and let's weigh
them, who is more
responsible? Who has more
worries for the Jewish nation?
Whose utterances bear more
weight?
Questioner: The people
who've been there have more
reliable information.
Rav Miller: So what? The
Lubavitcher have just come
from there! The Lubavitcher
come all the time from there.
Questioner: So, I'm saying the
people who've come from
there have said to speak out.
Rav Miller: But the
Lubavitcher don't say that.
Lubavitcher, they are coming
and don't say that.
Questioner: The people
coming from there are saying
that! The people!
Rav Miller: The Lubavitcher
are people too! Lubavitcher
are people!
Questioner: They're out
protesting. It's not something
quiet. They're trying to show
to the world that they care.
They want this struggle to be
brought in front of the world.
Rav Miller: The fact that
they're trying to do it doesn't
mean that they're sanctioned
by great men or that it's the
right thing to do. The
question we're coming down
to is the original thing that I
had pointed out before. Who
makes policy for the Jewish
nation? That's the question.
That's all. Who makes policy
for the Jewish nation? Rank
and file? Or the ziknei hador?
If we are Torah people, it's
the Torah leaders. That's all
we look to. We don't look to
anybody else.
It's a question of being a Jew.
A Jew knows where to look
for leadership. A Jew doesn't
look for leadership to anybody
else. You just can't help it.
You can't get away from the
principle of the Torah, שאל
לך אביך ויגדך זקניך ויאמרו - ask
your elders, the sages, they'll
tell you. You can't ask
anybody else. That's why I
asked, did Rabbi Katzin say
that? So you say somebody
did, let's hear their names.
Hyrcanus’ Downfall
Tape #R-22