Igrot Kodesh · Letter 1849 — Faith & Bitachon

By the grace of Hashem,

18 Elul 5712,

Brooklyn, New York,

To our brothers and our sisters, the sons and daughters of Israel,

everywhere they are found,

may Hashem grant them long life[1],

Greetings and blessings,

On the threshold of the new year 5713, which approaches in a positive manner, for us and for all Israel, I address my brachah* for a good and sweet year to all our brothers and our sisters, the sons and daughters of Israel, wherever they are found, to whom Hashem will grant long life.

The shemittah* year, 5712, arrives at its term, and these days remind us therefore of the considerable mitzvah* which is "a powerful foundation and a great principle of our faith" — that of Hakhel*, when the entirety of the people, men, women, and children, would gather, during Chol HaMoed* Sukkos, in a sacred place, the Beis HaMikdash*, which will be built very soon and in our days by our righteous Moshiach. There, all listened to passages of Torah evoking submission to Hashem and to the yoke of mitzvos*, in particular that of tzedakah*, the tithe.

From all time, Yidden have had a mitzvah* to educate their children on the way of Torah and mitzvos*. But the mitzvah* of Hakhel* underlines this still more clearly and reminds us of this necessity with a particular force.

In these days concluding the past year and introducing the one which approaches, every father and every mother, every Rav and every leader, every responsible person and every person of influence must take a firm decision, in the spirit of the mitzvah* of Hakhel*, not only for the Yamim Noraim*[2] and Sukkos, the period of this Hakhel*, but also for the entire year.

One must gather the Jewish children and lead them to the yeshivos*, the Talmud Torahs, the schools in which one dispenses to them a good education. By giving tzedakah* with largesse, one can, in addition, strengthen and assure the perpetuity of these institutions, welcoming the small boys and small girls, in every place.

It is necessary, indeed, to educate them in a spirit of yiras shamayim*, of ahavas Hashem*, of love of Torah and mitzvos*, of ahavas Yisroel*.

By this merit, Hashem will grant us very rapidly to accomplish the mitzvah* of Hakhel* in the Beis HaMikdash*, in Yerushalayim rebuilt by our righteous Moshiach, very soon and in our days, Amen.

Wishing you and wishing myself to be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet year, materially and spiritually,

Menachem Mendel ben Chana Schneerson,

[1] This letter takes up, in its main lines, the contents of the previous one. It is, nevertheless, drafted in Yiddish, while the previous one is in Hebrew. It addresses itself therefore to a broader public.
[2] Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.