No Human Being Could Claim Superior Ancestral Origin

By the Grace of G‑d
15th of Cheshvan, 5752 [October 23, 1991]
Brooklyn, N. Y.

Mr. Arkadiusz Rybicki
President of the Council for Polish-Jewish Relations
Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
Warsaw

Dear Mr. Rybicki,

This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter in which you express deep sorrow about the terrible anti-semitic incident that took place last month in front of the synagogue in Warsaw: that the perpetrators were captured and will be prosecuted, and that the behavior was condemned by President Walesa, etc. You also express the hope that in the future intolerance and prejudice will disappear from the Polish people, and that you are working towards this end.

We appreciate the sentiment expressed in your letter, and we pray that your hope and efforts will materialize very soon indeed.

Apropos of the above I would like to add that last month, in the beginning of Tishrei, we ushered in the current Jewish New Year, 5752, with the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the anniversary of the Creation of the first man, Adam. Our Sages of the Talmud explain why the creation of man differed from the creation of other living species and why, among other things, man was created as a single individual, unlike other living creatures created in pairs. One of the reasons – our Sages declare – is that it was G‑d's design that the human race, all humans everywhere and at all times, should know that each and all descend from the one and the same single progenitor, a fully developed human being created in the image of G‑d, so that no human being could claim superior ancestral origin; hence would also find it easier to cultivate a real feeling of kinship in all inter-human relationships.

Indeed, although Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish festival, our prayers for a Happy New Year include also all the nations and dwellers on earth. And true happiness includes everyone's peace and prosperity both materially and spiritually.

With prayerful wishes,

M. Schneerson