When Begin Met the Rebbe: A Jewish Statesman Fortified by Faith
On the night of July 17, 1977, something remarkable happened in Brooklyn. At nearly midnight, Prime Minister Menachem Begin stepped out of the political arena and into the spiritual stronghold of 770 Eastern Parkway—the global headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch—to meet the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. He had just shaken the political foundations of Israel, leading the Likud to its first national victory and ending nearly 30 years of Labor Party dominance. Days before his first official meeting with U.S. President Jimmy Carter—a moment that would influence the geopolitical future of Israel and the Middle East—Begin made a deliberate, almost radical, choice: before walking into the White House, he would walk into the Rebbe’s study.
This was not a photo-op. It was a statement. A Jewish leader, democratically elected, seeking the wisdom and blessing of a Jewish spiritual giant. The Rebbe greeted him personally—an exceedingly rare act that underscored the significance of the meeting. “I have come tonight,” Begin told the press, “to our great master and teacher, the Rabbi… to ask from him his blessings before I go to Washington.” In those words, Begin revealed something profound: the heart of Jewish leadership does not beat in Washington, Brussels, or even Jerusalem—but in Torah, in Emunah, in our eternal covenant with God and His land.
The Rebbe’s Influence: Backbone, Not Diplomacy
It’s no exaggeration to say the Rebbe changed Begin that night. Though the contents of their two-hour private meeting remain confidential, what followed is known to history: Begin went to Washington and stood firm. Under massive pressure from Carter to freeze Jewish settlements and yield to Palestinian demands, Begin refused. He argued with moral clarity: If a Jew can build a house in Shiloh, Tennessee, why can’t he build in Shiloh, Israel? That was not political rhetoric. That was Jewish clarity—Torah clarity.
And let us be honest: Begin wasn’t just resisting American pressure. He was resisting generations of Jewish insecurity, the kind that taught us to apologize for existing, to beg for a place among the nations. The Rebbe gave him what every Jewish leader needs but too few possess: a spine made of faith.
The Rebbe and Betar: Roots of Jewish Strength
This was no accident. Menachem Begin was not a product of Jewish exile; he was a product of Betar. He grew up under the influence of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, who taught that Jewish dignity, Jewish defense, and Jewish destiny were non-negotiable. In that sense, the meeting between Begin and the Rebbe was not two worlds colliding—it was two pillars of one world converging. Jabotinsky’s Betar forged warriors; the Rebbe’s Chabad nurtured souls. Together, they formed the complete Jew: one who fights and one who believes. One who acts and one who prays. One who knows that building the Jewish future means defending the Jewish past—and never surrendering either.
We Need This Meeting Now
Today, as Jewish blood is spilled in the streets of Israel and hatred festers openly in the West, we must remember that moment in 1977. It reminds us what Jewish leadership looks like: unashamed, unapologetic, and rooted in something greater than polls and popularity. We live in an age where politicians chase photo-ops in Brussels and Davos, not blessings in Brooklyn. We’ve normalized weakness as diplomacy and called it wisdom. But Begin knew better. He knew that before you face the world, you must face your Creator—and your people’s truth. That’s the Begin the Rebbe sent into the lion’s den of global diplomacy.
That’s the Begin Betar raised. And that’s the Jewish leadership we need now more than ever. This historic photograph isn’t just a captured moment—it’s a blueprint. Of how we once led. And how we must lead again. Bid on this picture at https://www.curioauctions.com/betar.
