Igrot Kodesh · Letter 3962 — Chinuch

B"H

15 Kislev 5716

Brooklyn, New York

To all participants in the rabbinical ordination ceremony of Yeshivah* Tomchei Temimim* Lubavitch of Montreal, may Hashem grant you long life,

Greetings and blessings,

On the occasion of the rabbinical ordination ceremony, which will take place this 19 Kislev, I extend my greetings and my blessing to the teachers and directors of the yeshivah*, to the students receiving these diplomas, to all the guests, and to all those who take part in the joy of the Torah*.

This celebration of Torah* in the Lubavitch Yeshivah*, in addition to its intrinsic content, is also an event of broad significance and a double joy, given the specific character of the yeshivah* and its students.

Formerly, the purpose of a yeshivah* was to impart to its students a profound knowledge of the holy Torah*. At that time, there was no need to be concerned about the influence exerted by the environment. At present, however, the yeshivah* does not content itself with training scholars. It must, in addition, ensure that they have the fear of Hashem.

But the raison d'être and the conception of a Lubavitch Yeshivah* go still further. It intends not only to train scholars who have the fear of Hashem and good conduct, who observe the Torah* and mitzvos* in the best manner, but also to implant in them a sense of responsibility toward others, to permeate them with the love of one's fellow and self-sacrifice. As a result, the students of the Lubavitch Yeshivah* are "lights to illuminate," spreading the brightness of the Torah*, of the mitzvos*, of good conduct, and of positive practices, in every place and in every milieu where Divine Providence leads them.

Everything is an effect of Divine Providence, including the fact that the ordination ceremony is celebrated on the luminous day of 19 Kislev, the festival of the liberation of the Alter Rebbe*, author of the Tanya* and the Shulchan Aruch*. On this day, the accusations brought against him were dismissed, for he had given of his very person to spread the wellsprings — not only of the Torah*, but also of good conduct. For this purpose, he instituted many practices and disseminated them also among those who were on the outside.

Those who receive rabbinical ordination and those who take part in the ceremony will surely be permeated by this spirit, by the light of the teaching and practices of Chassidus*. They will exert their influence on those around them, each one in the place where he finds himself, upon those who are near and those who, for the time being, are still far away, in order to draw them closer to our Father Who is in Heaven.

The merit of Torah* study permeated with fear of Hashem, and that of our holy masters, will protect each one of you, will bring forth blessing and success for all, together with the members of their families, in all needs, material and spiritual.

With my blessing on the occasion of the festival of liberation, when the light and vitality of our souls were granted to us,