English Translation
Reform rabbis of the Haskalah [Jewish Enlightenment movement] once organized a conference in the city of Braunschweig and invited the Malbim [Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel] to participate, in order to debate and argue with him about matters of Judaism and observance of commandments, as his reputation preceded him throughout the Jewish world as a Torah scholar and expert in the Bible. However, the Malbim responded to them with an appropriate answer. In his letter, the Rabbi of Bucharest wrote: “When a king builds a palace, he invites architects, engineers, and expert builders. But if he wishes to destroy a palace, he invites simple laborers.” He concluded his letter by stating: “Your intention is to destroy Judaism, and you have no need for me.”
[Source:] The great Rabbi, Rabbi Asher Anshil Yehuda Miller, of blessed memory, “Olamo Shel Abba” (Jerusalem 1984), page 243
Original Hebrew Version
רַבָּנִים רִיפוֹרְמִים מַשְׂכִּילִים עָרְכוּ פַּעַם וְעִידָה בָּעִיר בְּרָאוּנְשְׁוִויג וְהִזְמִינוּ גַּם אֶת הַמַּלְבִּי”ם לְהִשְׁתַּתֵּף, כְּדֵי לְהִתְפַּלְמֵס וּלְהִתְוַכֵּחַ אִתּוֹ בְּעִנְיְנֵי יַהֲדוּת וְקִיּוּם הַמִּצְווֹת, כִּי שְׁמוֹ הָלַךְ לְפָנָיו בְּכָל הָעוֹלָם הַיְּהוּדִי כְּגָדוֹל בַּתּוֹרָה וּכְבָקִי בַּתַּנַ”ךְ. אַךְ הַמַּלְבִּי”ם הֵשִׁיב לָהֶם
תְּשׁוּבָה כַּהֲלָכָה. בְּמִכְתָּבוֹ כָּתַב הָרַב מִבּוּקְרֶשְׁט, כְּשֶׁמֶּלֶךְ בּוֹנֶה אַרְמוֹן הוּא מַזְמִין אַדְרִיכָלִים,
מְהַנְדְּסִים וּבַנָּאִים מֻמְחִים. אַךְ אִם בִּרְצוֹנוֹ לַהֲרֹס אַרְמוֹן הוּא מַזְמִין פּוֹעֲלִים פְּשׁוּטִים, וְהוּא
סִיֵּם אֶת מִכְתָּבוֹ: “כַּוָּנַתְכֶם הִיא לַהֲרֹס אֶת הַיַּהֲדוּת וְאֵין לָכֶם צֹרֶךְ בִּי”.
הָרַה”ג ר’ אָשֵׁר אַנְשִׁיל יְהוּדָה מִילֶר ז”ל “עוֹלָמוֹ שֶׁל אַבָּא” (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם תשד”מ) ע’ רמ”ג
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