Igrot Kodesh · Letter 1178 — Chinuch

By the grace of Hashem,

5 Elul 5711,

Brooklyn, New York,

Greetings and blessings,

I duly received your letter, in which you tell me that, baruch Hashem*, you have not known sorrow until now. I hope, as I said in my letter of 13 Nissan, that you will continue not to know what it is, ch"v*, and that you will announce good news to me in this regard.

I was also pleased to read that you are striving to dedicate a certain part of the remaining funds to our yeshivos* in Morocco. Words are wanting to describe the great merit that constitutes participation in our educational work in this country, all the more so since, given its conditions of life, a modest budget enables immense achievements.

The responsibility which is ours toward our brethren in Morocco is all the greater if one considers that all the moral conditions are gathered, that there is no need to struggle to impose the ideal of a good chinuch*; on the contrary, this is being requested sincerely in order to save children. And rightly is it demanded that all opportunities be granted them.

One understands, indeed, the great importance of material tzedakah*, including that which one gives to a poor person. But the responsibility is considerably increased when the poor person himself comes to relate his own situation and asks, in his own way of expressing it, why he is not being helped.

How much more so does all this apply to spiritual tzedakah, which enables a Yiddishe kind* to be brought back to life by giving him Torah and mitzvos*. Not only does this open his access to Olam HaBa*, it also enables him to be happy in this world.

I have also taken note with interest, in your letter, of the possibilities and needs in the area of chinuch in Holland. For this, please address yourself directly to our office in Paris and to our representative, the great Rav, distinguished chassid* who fears Hashem and devotes himself to communal needs, Rav Binyamin Gorodetski. Nevertheless, one cannot exchange one cause of tzedakah for another, any more than one can mingle two reasons for joy. Consequently, the sum fixed for the work in Morocco must remain reserved for it. And I hope that you will find on the spot[1] persons who are interested and who will make possible an educational endeavor without coming up against financial problems. A part of the budget can also be made up of school fees. Moreover, as you write, after the first year it will be possible to integrate this work into the United Jewish Appeal of Holland.

On the occasion of Chai Elul and on Erev Rosh Hashanah, I will go — bli neder* — to the Ohel* of my father-in-law, the Rebbe. If you send me your name and that of your mother, as well as those of the members of your family, I will mention them, when I am there, for the satisfaction of all your needs.

I conclude by expressing the wish that your wife may be well, that the birth take place at a good moment and easily. With her, you will lead all your children to Torah, to chuppah*, and to maasim tovim*.

With my berachah that you be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet year,

Enclosed is an excerpt from the sichah*[2] of Shabbos Mevarchim*[3] Elul, of which you will surely make use in the appropriate manner.

Notes

[1] In Holland.

[2] See letters no. 1158–1161, 1164, 1171, 1172, and 1175.

[3] The Shabbos which blesses the coming month.