Igrot Kodesh · Letter 1361 — Faith & Bitachon

By the grace of Hashem,
23 Teves 5712,
Brooklyn,

Greetings and blessings,

I have duly received your letter of 18 Teves, as well as the previous one, with the request for a brachah* it contained, which I read at the tziyun* of my father-in-law, the Rebbe. Without a doubt, he will invoke divine mercy so that you have good health.

You advance that you may have caused me displeasure by your previous letter, in telling me that you were not satisfied with my reply. Heaven forbid that this be so! There is no displeasure on my part, but rather a certain form of discouragement, for the meaning of my reply went exactly contrary to your interpretation.

I clearly affirmed the great value of the assurances formulated by tzaddikim*. I said that in the end they must inevitably be realized. You should therefore have drawn from this the conclusions for your own case, having the certainty that it would indeed be so, as Rav I. M. of Poltava in particular underscores.

Now, you interpreted my letter in a manner opposite to this, and I am therefore embarrassed myself. I do not know what more to answer you. The Rebbe Maharash says that words express the essence of the soul, and my father-in-law, the Rebbe, specifies that a reply sometimes formulates itself. The chassidim* add that the manner of interpreting this reply by the one who receives it is decisive, especially if he is in a position to formulate an opinion, if he is sure of himself, as the Mishnah says at the beginning of Maseches Horiyos: "This is the general rule: one who makes it depend on himself...".

In any event, the apologies you ask for in your letter have no place at all. It is clear that you must in no way feel set aside, chas veshalom*. If there has never been any question of setting anyone aside, how much more so in our era, in this period of the ikvesa diMeshicha*. It is fitting, indeed, to go out to meet him, and as the Tzemach Tzedek says, it is by being united and bound together that the chassidim will receive Moshiach.

I learned with pleasure, from the rav*, distinguished chassid* who fears Hashem and devotes himself to communal needs, Rav Ben Tzion Shem Tov, that you teach Torah publicly. But he also told me that he could observe your discouragement. Think therefore of the immense responsibility that our master entrusted to you. Henceforth, who could compare to you? The fact of assuming such a mission evokes, in a certain way, the following statement of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, commented upon in Chassidus*: "I am only a sign[1]." For he possessed no personality of his own[2], and he could therefore say that he did not act of himself, that his Master revealed Himself through him.

Certainly, it is in this regard that it is said: "I have seen those who are capable of attaining elevation. They are few[3]." And who can claim to attain such a level? Nevertheless, every chassid possesses within him the koach* of the Rebbe[4]. His conduct is therefore what it must be, at least potentially. More than this, it is easy to reveal this potential, and each one has the necessary aplomb for this. It is enough to ask Hashem to make good use of it, in particular for the study of Torah.

You know, indeed, the difference between the study of Torah and tefillah*. The latter, in particular during the weekdays, ascends toward Hashem. It emanates from constriction[5], whereas Torah, in particular Chassidus, the "tree of life," is a heavenly and broad revelation.

With my brachah for good health and to have good news, always and every day, of what concerns you in general and of your state of health in particular,

I am enclosing my letter, addressed to all, on the occasion of the "yom tov of all yomim tovim"*, the 19th of Kislev.

Notes
(1) Of what is happening in the heavenly spheres, without introducing any personal message.
(2) His submission to Hashem was total.
(3) It is therefore quite clear that the level just described is not accessible to everyone. How then can one demand it?
(4) He thus receives the strength to elevate himself above the level which is really his own.
(5) It comes from an effort of man who seeks to elevate himself toward Hashem.

ב״ה ,ט״ז טבת תשי״ב

ברוקלין ,נ.י.

שלום וברכה!

שמחתי לשמוע פ״ש מבית הכנסת שלכם והמתפללים בכלל,

ומהשתתפותכם בפעולות השונות שחמי הרבי ,כ״ק מו״ח אדמו״ר

זצוקללה״ה נבג״מ זי״ע ,יסד וניהל .הפעולות הללו ממשיכות להתנהל

בע״ה ,וכמו כל דבר חי ,הן צומחות וגדלותבהתמדה .לכן הנני גם בטוח

שמזמן לזמן גם השתתפותם תגדל.

בית הכנסת הוא ,כפי ששמו מורה ,מקום שמכנס ומאחד כמה וכמה

יהודים ,כן ירבו .כמובן ,יש ביניהם סוגים שונים של בני אדם ,אבל ענינו של

בית הכנסת מאחד אותם.

יש התאחדות של בני אדם גם מסיבה אחרת ,כמו שותפות עסקית,

אבל ישנו הבדל יסודי בין התאחדות זו להאמורה לעיל.

כאשר אנשים מתאחדים עסקית ,אין זו אחדות אמיתית ,כי שותף

אחד הולך עם השני כדי שתהי׳ לו מזה תועלתו אישית .במילים אחרות,

הוא מחפש בשותפו מה הוא עצמו יכול ליהנות; הוא מחפש בזולת ,לא את

הזולת ,אלא את עצמו .לכן קורה ,שכאשר אחד מהם משער שאינו יכול

לקבל מהשני את הרווח האישי הראוי ,השותפות מתפרקת.

שונה באופן יסודי היא התאחדות על יסוד של תורה ומצוות בכלל,

ובית הכנסת בפרט .כאן מתאחדים יהודים לא לצורך רווח גשמי אישי,

אלא כדי לבצע ענין של תורה ומצוות ,תפלה וצדקה .מאחד אותם הרעיון

הכללי -לעשות את רצון הקב״ה ,שבכללות מתבטא באהבת השם ,אהבת

התורה ואהבת ישראל .התאחדות כזו יכולה לשרוד לתמיד ,בדיוק כמו

שתורה ומצוות הם נצחיים.

א׳שמו

נכתבה לכמה בתי כנסת .נדפסה בלקוטי שיחות כרך טז עמוד .610

אגדות-קודש -מתורגמות)א׳שמז*(

הנני שולח ברכתי ,שבית הכנסת שלכם יהי׳ בית הכנסת אמיתי ,היכן

שכל החברים והמתפללים מאוחדים ברעיון של ״ויעשו כולם אגודה אחת

לעשות רצונך בלבב שלם״ .זה גם פותח את הדרך לקבל את ברכת הקב״ה,

כל אחד במצטרך לו בבני חיי ומזונא רויחי.

בברכה.