Ending Discrimination Within Our Communities

Letters of the Rebbe, Volume 15, letter number 5,451. Baruch Hashem, the 15th of Iyar, 5717, Brooklyn. Shalom u’vracha.

The Rebbe writes that he is responding to the letter of the 12th of Iyar.

The Rebbe addresses a painful matter: discrimination against Sephardic Jews. He writes that he has already written to many Chabad institutions, and also to all of them collectively, regarding reports that have reached him about hardship and unequal treatment directed toward our Sephardic brethren.

The Rebbe says that unfortunately, in some circles, even until now, such attitudes still exist. Therefore, he writes clearly that this discrimination must cease and must be uprooted from the outset.

The Rebbe explains that there are many reasons why this conduct must end, but the most important reason is the essential truth of every Jew’s soul.

Who can know the greatness and preciousness of another person’s soul, spirit, and inner worth? No one can measure the spiritual value of another Jew.

The Rebbe emphasizes that all Jews are fitting and worthy, because all Jews have one Father. We all come from the same source. He refers to the teaching explained at length in chapter 32 of Tanya, where the unity of the Jewish people is rooted in the oneness of their spiritual source.

The Rebbe further stresses this point to make clear that every Jew stands equally within the Jewish people. No background, country of origin, family history, or communal label changes that truth.

He then writes with astonishment that after such fiery words already spoken by our first father, the Alter Rebbe, one should still need reminders and encouragement from overseas regarding such a basic matter.

In other words, these truths are already clear in Torah and Chassidus. It should not require outside intervention to remember them.

At the same time, the Rebbe clarifies that he is not coming to interfere in the day-to-day administration of institutions or to override the authority of those appointed to make practical decisions.

He says that he does not intend to involve himself in each specific case or in the details that administrators must judge locally. Those responsibilities belong to the people entrusted with running the institutions.

However, the Rebbe explains that he must state the central principle—the inner point—that must serve as the guiding thread running through all decisions and all activities.

That guiding thread is the recognition that every Jew belongs, every Jew has dignity, and every Jew must be approached with love and fairness.

The Rebbe’s message is that practical systems may require judgment and discretion, but no system may be built on prejudice or exclusion. The foundation of every institution must be the unity of the Jewish people.

This letter remains a powerful call that communal life and education must reflect the Torah’s view of human worth: one people, one Father, and one shared holiness.

Summary – The Rebbe teaches that administration may differ from case to case, but values must remain absolute. Every Jew possesses immeasurable worth, and any community built on Torah must reject discrimination and embrace the unity of all Israel.