Igrot Kodesh · Letter 9393

By the grace of Hashem,

Tuesday of Parashat Lech Lecha* 5728,
Brooklyn, New York,

To the participants in the annual dinner of Yeshiva* Achei Temimim* of Newark,
may Hashem grant you long life,

I greet you and bless you,

I greet all the participants in the annual dinner[1] and earnestly wish that this celebration be a great success. In accordance with the well-known saying of the Admor HaZaken*[2], author of the Tanya* and the Shulchan Aruch*, "a Jew must live with the time" — with the time of the weekly Sidra*. The Yeshiva* dinner, which will take place this week, will therefore undoubtedly be animated by the spirit and the content of the weekly Sidra*, which introduces the biography of our father Avraham, the first Jew and ancestor of our people.

One of the first events experienced by our father Avraham was the Divine Injunction[3]: "Your descendants shall be strangers in a land that is not theirs," but to this was added the eternal covenant[4] concluded between Hashem and our father Avraham, which assured the permanence of the people of Israel in all times and all circumstances. From that time, it was clearly established that this permanence was conditioned on the education of the children, that it would be through education that the bond with Hashem would be maintained from birth — a bond not only physical, but also moral.

Our Sages say[5] that "the deeds of the Patriarchs are indicators for the sons" — so many teachings that are reflected in the history of our people, both individually and collectively. The eternity of the Jewish people is bound to the education of Jewish children, and the education of a single one of these children has an impact not only for that child personally, but indeed for the entire Jewish people.

This is the entire importance of an education faithful to the Torah in general, and of that of Yeshiva* Achei Temimim* in particular. The responsibility and the merit of the parents, the participants, the community leaders who strengthen and develop an educational institution based on sacred values — like Yeshiva* Achei Temimim* — are self-evident. May Hashem grant success in the broadest measure, to each one individually and to all together.

With my regards and my blessing for success, and likewise that you give me good news,

M. Schneerson,

Notes

[1] See Likutei Sichot*, vol. 10, p. 202.
[2] See Sefer HaSichot* 5702, p. 29, and Hayom Yom*, on the date of 2 Cheshvan.
[3] Lech Lecha 15:13.
[4] Lech Lecha 15:18.
[5] See Midrash Tanchuma*, Parashat Lech Lecha*, ch. 9, and Ramban's* commentary on the Torah, regarding the verse Lech Lecha 12:6.