Igrot Kodesh · Letter 3141 — Health

B"H

25 Kislev* 5715,
Brooklyn.

To the directors of the synagogue, of the Ari Zal* rite,
Anshei Lubavitch, in Dorchester,
and to all who pray there,
may Hashem grant you long life,

Greetings and blessing,

I received with pleasure, through the Rav, distinguished Chassid* who fears Hashem and faithfully devotes himself to communal needs, Rav Yehudah Leib HaLevi Horowitz, your contribution for children's aid and for the Yeshivos*, for which you will find the receipts enclosed. This proves, I am convinced, your permanent interest in the most important institutions.

Like everything that lives, your interest will develop, in accordance with the statement of our Sages that "one ascends in the domain of Holiness." Moreover, we find ourselves in the days of Chanukah*. It was then that a decree aimed "to make them forget Your Torah* and to make them transgress the Decrees of Your Will."

My father-in-law, the Rebbe, citing his fathers, says (see also letter no. 3137) that one must "listen to what the small lights of Chanukah* tell" and use them for the service of Hashem. Ultimately, when the Jews, through the self-sacrifice they displayed, won the victory, "they purified Your Sanctuary and lit lights in the courts of Your Holiness."

We have been enjoined to do likewise — to light candles during the days of Chanukah* in increasing numbers, that is, by revealing, each evening, an increasing light. And there is in this a teaching of general import for the conduct that a Jew must adopt in all matters concerning Torah* and Mitzvos*. This conduct must illuminate even when it is nighttime, not only inside one's home but also, in the expression of the Gemara*, "at the door of his house, toward the outside."

And Hashem acts "measure for measure" (in the manner in which man acts toward Him). He therefore illuminates the home of each person, granting him children, health and material prosperity in abundance.

With my blessing for each of you and the members of your families,