Igrot Kodesh · Letter 583 — Pesach and Spiritual Elevation After the Histalkus

By the grace of Hashem,

12 Nissan 5710,

To the distinguished Chassidim*, who fear Hashem,

the students of the Yeshiva of Pittsburgh

and their teachers,

I greet you and bless you.

I have received your donation for the Tzedakah* of Pesach* and you will find enclosed a receipt.[1]

I also enclose the booklet edited for the occasion of the festival of Pesach, which has just appeared. You will surely make it available to others.

On every occasion, and particularly during Shabbat* and the festivals, when each person is more clearly inclined toward spirituality than during the rest of the week, we all gather, we who have had the merit of being his disciples or being attached to him, in order to feel the revelation of the personality of my father-in-law, the Rebbe — the inner essence of his spirit, as is explained in chapter 27 of Iggeret HaKodesh and its commentary.[2]

My father-in-law, the Rebbe, devoted his life to the community in general, to each individual in particular, and to the well-being of those attached to him most particularly. Without doubt, he continues, at the present moment, to dispense his blessings.

Nevertheless, those that he gives now are, to a certain extent, different from what they were before. For his soul is freed from the limits and constraints imposed by the body. It receives successive elevations, which is precisely the meaning of the word Histalkus*.[3] As a result, his blessings, material and spiritual, are higher and stronger.

For this reason, the one who receives these blessings must prepare himself by giving himself the means of his own elevation.

Throughout his life, my father-in-law, the Rebbe, showed us how one can grow oneself, not only in thought, but also in actuality. At present, his lips still move in this world, thanks to the countless explanations he has left us — his maamarim*, his sichos*, his letters.

By concretely putting his will into practice, we forge the vessels that allow us to internalize the lofty blessings he wishes to bestow upon us.

The time of Pesach, that of the exodus from Egypt, from limitations and barriers, demands of each one that he free himself even from the Egypt of holiness and, all the more so, from the contingencies imposed by the intellect and the animal soul. This period is therefore particularly conducive to moral elevation.

Nevertheless, one must beware of the deceptions of the evil inclination. Thus, in this period, one can receive the highest blessings, both material and spiritual. One of the ways to achieve this is not only to give the Tzedakah of Pesach to those who need it, but also to come to their aid, to encourage those who are poor in Torah and Mitzvot*, throughout the year.

With my blessing for a kosher and joyous Pesach festival and for great success in your studies and in your service of Hashem,

M. Schneerson