Igrot Kodesh · Letter 5712 — Faith & Bitachon

B"H

6 Elul 5717

Brooklyn

Greetings and blessings,

I am responding to your letter, in which you ask me to explain why it is important to read the Tanya* each day, whereas you understand well the importance of the studies of Chumash* and Tehillim*. The answer to this question, insofar as it can be given in writing, is as follows.

You no doubt know that there exists a revealed part of the Torah* and its hidden dimension, which is also called its profound dimension. In the words of the holy Zohar*, it is the body of the Torah* and its soul. And so it is for every person, in particular for a Jew, whose soul possesses a revealed aspect and a hidden face, which are the "body of the soul" and the "soul of the soul." One can establish this even more clearly by the fact that the more an idea is dear to one's heart, the more one speaks of it with flame. It is not so for what one does in order to fulfill an obligation — which one can certainly carry out with liveliness, but which remains, nonetheless, an obligation.

A person wishes to obtain the blessing of Hashem in what concerns him, on a daily basis. For this, the holy Torah* says: "If you walk in My statutes" — and Rashi* specifies that these words apply to the study of Torah*. One desires, of course, that these blessings be as abundant as possible. It is therefore necessary to study a minimum of Torah* — of both its revealed part and its hidden, profound teaching. What is at issue here is indeed a minimum, and this minimum has been sought, in this case, in both the revealed part of the Torah* and its profound dimension, as it can be perceived by one who is at the beginning of his study. For the revealed part, this is the Chumash*; for the profound dimension, it is the Tanya*.

Obviously, the Chumash* is not studied in the same way by a child, a beginner, or a great scholar. It can be understood in its simplest sense, at a deeper dimension, or even at a still more profound level. It is clear that the same applies to the Tanya*. I hope that you will show this letter to the spiritual guide who teaches you Chassidus*. He will be able to develop these explanations, which would be too lengthy to present in writing. The essential point is that a young man, a yeshivah* student, must be aware of the necessity to study with vigor and ardor, to fulfill the mitzvos* in the best possible manner, without seeking questions. Even if there are practices that, for now, are not perfectly clear to him, he must nonetheless carry them out. In due time, when he has studied in the proper manner, he will understand and grasp their meaning. May Hashem grant you success.

With my blessing to be inscribed and sealed for a good year,

For the Rebbe shlita*,

the secretary,