Igrot Kodesh · Letter 6114 — Prayer

By the grace of Hashem*,

17 Adar* 5718,

Brooklyn,

Shalom* u'vracha*,

I am responding to your letter of 15 Adar*, Shushan Purim*, in which you describe your moral situation and you solicit my counsel on this subject. You surely possess a Tanya* and you will find therein the answer to all your questions. You surely possess the edition in which there is an index, which will facilitate your search.

You ask me about what is recounted in the books or transmitted orally, about persons who, in their youth, were immense geniuses of the people of Israel. Now, what is the point of asking such questions? Why wonder about the reason why men are different? Moreover, the beginning of chapter 4 of the Tanya* explains that the understanding of the Torah* depends on intellectual capacities and on the heavenly source of the soul. Commenting on the affirmation of the Mishnah* according to which one must be "humble before every person," chapter 30 emphasizes that every person possesses a quality that the other does not have. This is also what the end of chapter 7 of Iggeres HaKodesh* explains, showing that the success of a certain person, in a particular mitzvah*, can only be explained because such is the Will of Hashem*.

I am surprised by your manner of approaching this question. For, the purpose of man is not to elevate himself and surpass others, but, in the terms of the Mishnah*, "I was created to serve my Creator." If the Holy One, blessed be He, desires that the greatness of one be expressed through the mitzvah* of tzedakah* and that of the other through the study of the Torah*, each one can only put into practice the Design of the Creator, the one that has been assigned to him. Obviously, this citation from Iggeres HaKodesh* has no other purpose than to comfort and to invite eagerness. But, in any case, all Jews are required to put into practice the entire six hundred and thirteen mitzvos*, "and the study of the Torah* surpasses all the others."

With my blessing,

On behalf of the Rebbe, shlita*,

the secretary,

P.S.: You are surely aware of the three well-known daily studies — the Chumash*, the Tehillim*, and the Tanya*. At the very least, you will adopt them in the future. Likewise, you will give a few cents to tzedakah*, every weekday morning, before the prayer.