“I don’t want readers to ascribe the actions and decisions of these people, good or bad, to human beings"

Just before his book, Diary of Faith and Determination, went to print, Reb Sholom Mordechai Halevi Rubashkin made a last-minute change.

He wanted the names of all judges, prosecutors, and state attorneys removed. The publisher, Reb Moshe Kaufman of Israel Book Shop, assumed that this was to protect Reb Sholom Mordechai from liability.

No, explained Reb Sholom Mordechai, not at all. The reason he removed the names of all those who’d taken part in the protracted legal drama was very different.

“I don’t want readers to ascribe the actions and decisions of these people, good or bad, to human beings. It was all HaKadosh Baruch Hu, every last part of it, and these people were just His shluchim. Why distract the readers with names and take them away from the truth?”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 875)