Igrot Kodesh · Letter 3013 — Faith & Bitachon

B"H

11 Marcheshvan* 5715,
Brooklyn.

Greetings and blessing,

I received with pleasure your letter of 7 Cheshvan*. I am also pleased to observe that you complain of being solicited by several schools. May Hashem cause that all Jews have such dissatisfaction — that they be contacted by several institutions providing an education based on sacred values and offering them work connected to tzedakah* in general and to good education in particular.

It is certain that one must follow the prescriptions of the doctor advising caution. Such is the teaching of our holy Torah, which says: "You shall guard well your souls." But in the same Torah in which He issues this injunction, Hashem also emphasizes the necessity of tzedakah* and kindness. It is therefore certain that these values are compatible, that they do not exclude each other, and that, on the contrary, the pleasure one experiences in doing a good deed strengthens and reinforces the health of a Jew, including in the physical sense.

The same applies to you. If you do not shout, people will listen to what you say. Then, you will find the time to act also for institutions and in domains based on Holiness. Moreover, as I have told you on many occasions during our discussions, you must be joyful, for it is said precisely: "Serve Hashem with joy." This is what Hashem expects of everyone in general and of each person in particular. He therefore grants the necessary strength to put His injunctions into practice.

I duly received the commitment (for a donation to tzedakah*) that you sent us, following up on the discussions we had here, as you had promised, without making a vow. I mentioned it with satisfaction, joy, and pleasure near the holy resting place of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, whose merit will protect us. I hope that upon receipt of this letter, you will have already obtained a receipt from the central office of the Lubavitch Yeshivos*, with the appropriate accompanying letter.

May Hashem cause that in the future, the wishes of your heart be fulfilled positively. Indeed, however good a Jew's situation may be, he has the means to improve it. May Hashem therefore help you in this matter.

You know the account (see the Hayom Yom*, at the date of 9 Marcheshvan*, Likkutei Sichos*, volume 5, page 86, and letter no. 1239) of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, which he related about his father, the Rebbe (Rashab*), whose merit will protect us. On the occasion of his birthday, when he was four or five years old, the latter entered the room of his grandfather, the Tzemach Tzedek*, to receive his blessing. His birthday is 20 Marcheshvan*, and that year, this date corresponded to Parshas Vayera.

Entering his grandfather's room, the Rebbe began to cry. The Tzemach Tzedek* asked him the reason, and he replied that he had just learned in the Cheder* that Hashem had revealed Himself to our father Avraham. Now, he too wished to see Him, but Hashem did not reveal Himself to him. The Tzemach Tzedek* replied that when a Jew aged ninety-nine years learns that he must be circumcised, that he cannot attain wholeness until he has done so, he merits that Hashem reveal Himself to him.

The words of the righteous deliver a teaching, even when addressed to a specific person and even when that person is a child of four or five. This account has reached us and it relates the words of a righteous person. It therefore delivers a teaching and a moral lesson to many Jews, including those who live at another era and in another place. You must understand what I mean.

May Hashem enable each of us to progress, with all his will, in matters of the Torah and the mitzvos*. May He grant us the necessary strength for this. Thus, we will be aware that a lack always remains, that one must still put into practice the injunction "Be wholehearted" and place one's trust in Hashem. Nothing resists the will, and when one desires it sincerely, one receives the help of Hashem.

With my blessing to intensify your practice of the mitzvos* and your fixed studies of the Torah, for long days and good years,