Igrot Kodesh · Letter 5355 — Faith & Bitachon

B"H*

10 Nissan* 5717
Brooklyn

To the distinguished Chassid* who fears Hashem*,
of manifold accomplishments and fine conduct,
Rav Alexander Zisel (see note 1),

Greetings and blessings,

After a particularly long interruption, I received your letter from the conclusion of Shabbos* and I read with pleasure how Shabbos is conducted at the institution you direct. Boys and girls attend it and one therefore surely takes all necessary precautions in this regard. You tell me that they are separated during prayer. It is quite clear that this is not sufficient.

I come now to the subject of your letter. You tell me that you sometimes take a moral accounting of your activity, devoted to the education of others. On the other hand, what will become of your own person, you ask yourself, of what concerns you, while "one day pursues another"?

You surely know that this question and this moral disappointment are ancient, that they trouble all those who devote themselves to communal activities in general and to those concerning the whole person in particular. Of course, the answer and the solution to this fundamental question are not the same for every era and for every person. A time of war is not comparable to one of peace, disorder to one where all is well. It is clear, moreover, that one who possesses a specific gift for handling communal responsibilities is in no way comparable to one who assumes them only by force of circumstances.

One must therefore reason according to these logical criteria, comprehensible to one who meditates, even briefly, on the worldview of our Torah*, Torah of life, of which a great principle is: "Love your neighbor as yourself." And, "whoever preserves a single Jewish soul is considered as if he had saved the entire world."

It is certain that our generation is orphaned. It is also the generation of the heel of Moshiach*, at the end of the exile, a close preparation for the beginning of the complete redemption. This redemption will indeed be complete, which means that no Jew will remain in exile — exile in the literal sense, but also in its moral import. For this, the participation of each person is necessary; an effort must be made to gather Jewish souls, to bring them closer to the Redeemer of Israel, to Hashem, Who gives the Torah and the mitzvos*.

No one is exempt from this mission, to which one must devote oneself at least for a certain time each day, each week, each month. The more gifted a person is for this activity, the more time he must devote to it. For some, this mission is essential and all other actions merely prepare for it. In other words, it is the mitzvah* they must observe most scrupulously, in the terms of Iggeres HaKodesh* of the Alter Rebbe*, at the end of chapter 7, and of the Sefer HaSichos* of the summer of 5700, page 22 and in the notes. The rest of the Torah and mitzvos they fulfill receive elevation, from below to above, through this mitzvah, just as the revelations they obtain, from above to below, pass through it.

It is, however, quite clear that to gather the sparks and bring hearts closer, it is not enough to moisten oneself. One must do so to the point of moistening others. It is for each person to evaluate and to assign to each day, to each period, the time and the ardor necessary to achieve this effort upon oneself and within oneself, including when one is searching, almost constantly, for the good of the other.

In order not to err in this evaluation, one must carefully remember the well-known saying (see note 2) that we received from my father-in-law, the Rebbe*, according to which, just as one must not underestimate one's faults, one must also not underestimate one's qualities. On another occasion, he said that the prohibition of lashon hara* does not apply only toward others, but also toward oneself. The Holy One, blessed be He, demands only in accordance with the strengths He grants, and the Torah was not given to the angels. Hashem wants this mission to be assumed and it must therefore be possible.

One must therefore not be distressed if, at the beginning, one faces difficulties. Moreover, sometimes one may even stumble. Indeed, our Sages say, "A man acquires the words of the Torah only after having stumbled over them." And there is no teaching clearer than that one, since it is stated in the laws relating to cases of danger.

I will formulate all of this in the manner of the Alter Rebbe, in chapter 44 of the Tanya*.

Certainly, who can claim to reach even a thousandth of the level that was that of the shepherd of Israel (see note 3)? Nevertheless, an infinitesimal part is indeed found in every Jew, particularly those who invest themselves in the domain of education, at least in a potential and virtual way. Consequently, this is the occasion to meditate upon the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov* that we received from my father-in-law, the Rebbe, on Shabbos Parshas Bereishis* 5697 (see note 4), concerning the verse: "Arise, my light." Here are its terms, as noted by one of those present: "The words of the Baal Shem Tov were addressed to the leaders of Israel. He told them: You, leaders of Israel, who teach Torah to Jews and act for the benefit of the greatest number, what of yourselves? The answer is as follows: Arise, my light — a light that is both specific and general — for your light has come." The end of his teaching did not reach us.

Certainly, the end of this teaching is missing and the explanation is therefore not clear. The question posed, however, is clear, and it is quite evident that such people sacrifice their study of the Torah, their service of Hashem, for the good of others. Yet not only is their conduct accepted, but moreover, they are blessed with the promise of a light that is both specific and general.

To understand the depth of this idea, one would need to develop this analysis at great length and, even then, one would not yet arrive at its totality. Nevertheless, we are referring to concrete action and one knows which criterion applies to action, in the words of the Rebbe Rashab*, reproduced in the HaYom Yom*, on the date of 23 Sivan 5703: "Remember well this principle and keep it permanently in mind: Every obstacle to what is effective or useful for the service of Hashem, however lofty it may be, is nothing but a stratagem of the animal soul."

If you will listen to me, redouble your ardor in your mission for the education of the Jewish children over whom you exercise your influence, in school and outside of it. Observe the situation as it truly and profoundly is. Of each of those to whom you devote yourself, it is said: "You are children to Hashem your Elokim*." Everything that brings them closer to our Father Who is in heaven, every action in this direction, is immutable and eternal on high. It provides boundless satisfaction. Nevertheless, in order for this mission to be assumed in the proper manner, you must, with your family, set an example for your students of what you teach them — the example of a Jewish man and a Jewish woman basing their conduct on our holy Torah and permeated by the luminary of the Torah, Chassidus*.

For this, one must fix, in one's mind and in time, a study of Chassidus, observe its customs and practices. Then, without a doubt, the promise will be fulfilled according to which "his brain and his heart will be a thousand times more refined." Various texts emphasize that the number one thousand in this statement is not an exaggeration, which means that one hour of study will be as profitable to you, quantitatively and qualitatively, as one thousand hours. In this way, in your private life, you will indeed experience elevation, from one stage to the next.

Of course, all of this is not simple, but why imagine that a Jew must seek simplicity, particularly in our era, when the Divine Presence is in exile, the darkness is intense and profound, and everything leads to exhaustion? And, between the lines of this letter, much more is expressed than what is stated in full. I hope that these explanations will be sufficient to nourish your reflection.

May Hashem grant that we both retain the same interpretation of all this, because we both have the same objective — namely, the spreading of the wellsprings of Chassidus, so that the conquest becomes ever broader, extending to all our people, the children of Israel. Then, "one will no longer teach the other and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem."

Of course, all of this does not contradict what I believe I have written to you several times, concerning the assistance you must provide to Kfar Chabad* and all that concerns it. On the contrary, this approach will help you to do so, in accordance with the promise of the Mishnah* according to which "one mitzvah draws another."

On the occasion of the festival of Matzos*, time of our freedom, which approaches, for us and for all of Israel, for the good, I send you my blessing for a kosher and joyous festival, for true freedom, to cast off material and spiritual worries, everything that prevents serving Hashem with joy and enthusiasm, and to preserve this freedom and joy throughout the year. Indeed, the service of Hashem, as our Torah, Torah of life, commands us, applies to everything concerning a person, throughout the entire day and night, as it is said: "In all your ways, acknowledge Him."

With my blessing for the festival and to convey good tidings,

ב״ה ,כ״ז ניסן ,תשי״ז

ברוקלין.

שלום וברכה!

מאשר קבלת מכתבו מכ״ג ניסן ,וכתבו אודות מר . . .נכון יותר

לומר אודות ה״שידוך״ ,הוא תדהמה עבורי ,ומובן הרושם שזה עשה . . .

אבל כשיודעים את זכות הצדקה ,ובפרט צדקה הקשורה עם חינוך

הכשר ,שזכה בשנים הקודמות לתת סכומים חשובים לזה ,הנני חזק

בבטחוני ,שה״שידוך״ לא יחזיק זמן רב ,והשי״ת יעזור שהביטול יהי׳

בחסד וברחמים ,ובחסד וברחמים גם יכיר סוף סוף שהוא שייך לבני

ישראל ,ואינו יכול להמצא במקום אחר ,ואחרי הכל מלבד צרות לא

יקבל במקומות האחרים שום דבר ,גם אם בתקופה הראשונה יחניפו לו

ויטפחו לו על השכם ,ובטח מיותר לעורר שכל מה שהוא יכול לעשות

בכיוון זה ,יעשה . . ,