When the question of the lineage of the Indian tribe known as Bnei Yisrael arose, the Israeli Chief Rabbinate (at the prompting of the Ministry of Religions), leaned towards declaring them fit to marry Jews. The Steipler spoke up to oppose this ruling and he and ylct'a, HaRav Shach, published a letter: "Our opinion is that since they have already been forbidden by our teachers, the gedolim of Bovel and Yerushalayim, ir hakodesh, ever since the question arose a century ago and their prohibition spread to all the botei din that had to consider the matter, the prohibition is in full force and they remain forbidden."
In further letters to a meeting of rabbonim which convened on the matter, the Steipler wrote, "It is imperative to turn to all Torah scholars, gedolei Yisroel, the generation's geonim . . . to make a permanent enactment, until the arrival of the Redeemer, that anyone who wishes to marry must first of all prove beyond question that his ancestry is neither chas vesholom from those families, nor from others who have become mixed with them."
The strong opposition prevented those in power from implementing their plan. The Minister of Religions at the time was Dr. Zerach Warhaftig (NRP). When he heard about how fierce the opposition was, he asked for a meeting to be arranged between himself and the Steipler. One day he knocked on the Steipler's door, accompanied by his entourage. When the Steipler was informed who had come, he refused to receive him, explaining, "Whatever I say to him, he'll repeat the opposite in my name and he'll turn my words around to suit himself."
After a number of emissaries had been sent to entreat the Steipler to grant the meeting, he agreed to receive the visitor but said that he would not reply to him on the subject. The Minister entered and asked, "Are they forbidden to marry Jews?" The Steipler answered, "I don't want to reply." The Minister asked, "Must I instruct rabbonim not to arrange weddings for them?" The Steipler answered, "I don't want to reply," and then he said, "This I ask of you -- don't persecute those rabbonim who don't arrange weddings for them. However, I don't want to speak about the actual question itself."
The Minister left the house and was heard saying to the members of his group, "The Rav said that I don't need to instruct the rabbonim not to arrange weddings." The next day, the NRP's newspaper Hatsofe printed the "news" that the Steipler had ruled thus for the Minister Dr. Warhaftig on the latter's visit to his home.
When the Steipler was told about this, he rushed to issue a contradiction. "I have been told that in this Wednesday's edition of Hatsofe it was written that the Doctor quoted me as having said that a rav who permits marriage with one of the tribe known as Bnei Yisrael is allowed to marry the couple but that no pressure should be brought to bear on those who think that it is forbidden. This is utterly incorrect. I never said that a rav who permits it may chas vesholom do so. Only, because it was clear that they wouldn't listen to me at all [if I would have told them] to cancel the hetter, I asked that at any rate, as a small concession, not to pressure those rabbonim who do not wish to deal with it. I said this explicitly so that it shouldn't be interpreted as though there are any grounds for permitting it . . . " (Based on an eyewitness account).
In this connection, it is worthwhile relating something which the Steipler said the Brisker Rov told him, as an example of the great care necessary when giving halachic rulings. When the "national home" was declared (the Balfour Declaration), people came to ask the Rov if Hallel should be said. He answered, "What does Hallel have to do with this issue? If you had asked about shehecheyonu, that would be more understandable . . . " The questioners went away and then said that the Brisker Rov had said that the brocho of shehecheyonu should be made.
