Igrot Kodesh · Letter 9401

By the grace of Hashem,

2 Kislev* 5728,
Brooklyn, New York,

To Mr. Yerachmiel* Honig, of London,

I greet you and bless you,

Your letter reached me with a very significant delay[1]. I was pleased by its content and, in particular, by the spirit in which it is written, which bears witness to your attachment to our common and eternal heritage, as expressed in the verse[2]: "The Torah* that Moshe* commanded us is the heritage of the community of Yaakov*."

Every Jew is expected to regard this heritage in such a manner and, of course, this is in no way a matter of keeping it under glass[3]. As the words "that Moshe commanded us" emphasize, the Torah* must permeate daily existence with enthusiasm. How much more so must this be the case for one who comes from a family of masters of Chassidut*, a Chassidic* family, as you write to me.

You tell me that you are not a "professional" Chassid*. It is clear that no such thing exists, for one who would see it as a profession would not be a Chassid*. Chassidut* is built on deep enthusiasm[4] and intense attachment, to the point of becoming the very quintessence of one's personality. It has two formulations or two main currents: that of Poland, also called Chagat*, the initials of Chesed*, Gevurah*, and Tiferet*, which gives this enthusiasm an outward expression; and that of Chabad*, which places the emphasis on the inward dimension.

What is common to all Jews and the essential mission of each person, especially in our generation, is not to be content with the intellectual perception of a positive element. It is not enough for the heart to see what is good. This perception must spread into all two hundred and forty-eight limbs of the body and take the form of actual deeds.

I had to depart from my custom to write these few lines. May Hashem cause, at the very least, that this achieves its intended result — that you yourself and all those under your influence reconsider the manner in which you have, in the past, regarded man and his conception of things. You will advance on the path of our Torah*, Torah* of truth, which is also a Torah* of life — from the same root as Hora'ah*, teaching[11] — for it defines the life one must adopt so that life may be worthy of its name. With my respects and blessing,

M. Schneerson,

Notes

[1] See Likutei Sichot*, vol. 35, p. 297.
[2] Devarim* 33, 4.
[3] See the lengthy explanation in the Simchat Torah* 5725 discourse, published by Kehot* in 5759, par. 22.
[4] See, in this connection, letter no. 8238.
[5] In tractate Avot*, ch. 1, Mishnah* 17.
[6] See, in this connection, the Yerushalmi*, tractate Nedarim*, ch. 9, par. 4; the Ta'amei HaMitzvot* of the Ari Zal*; the Sefer HaMitzvot* of the Tzemach Tzedek*; Likutei Torah*, Parshat Nitzavim*; Likutei Sichot*, vol. 4, from p. 1141.
[7] This refers to Martin Buber. See also the letter of 22 Marcheshvan* 5719, addressed to Mr. Eliezer Steinman.
[8] The Rabbi underlines the word: "all."
[9]–[10] See above references.
[11] From the same Hebrew root as Torah*.