Igrot Kodesh · Letter 175 — Chanukah, Wartime Resilience, and Personal Encouragement

By the grace of Hashem,

Third day of Chanukah* 5705,

To my very dear friend, Mr. Dov Padver,[1]

I greet you and bless you,

I asked Mr. Bezboradko[2] for news of you and the members of your family on various occasions. I was therefore very happy to learn that your settling here went well and that you are doing well, as are all the members of your family.

I then received, with great joy, your brief letter, in which I note, however, that you say absolutely nothing concerning your own person.

Your letter awakened in me the memory of the period we spent together in Vichy and Nice,[3] each of us in living conditions to which we had been in no way accustomed.

When a person is uprooted from the environment in which he has been living for a certain time, he must necessarily pass through a period of adaptation to new conditions and demands. Then the deep traits of his character appear clearly, as they truly are, without the veneer and trappings imposed by society.

Very often, these deep character traits reveal all the good that a person carries within himself in a latent state — of which he may not previously have been aware himself, so deeply is it buried by the "proprieties of the world." Happy is he who, once these character traits have been revealed, knows how not to allow them to veil themselves once again,[4] even when he returns to calm.[5]

The person called to self-sacrifice[6] finds himself in the same state of mind, but to a far greater degree — qualitatively and quantitatively. The highest forces are then unveiled within him[7] — forces that emanate from the very essence of his being. After this, his existence will be transformed from one extreme to the other.[8]

This is the reason why one who gives of himself, and thus accepts going against his very existence, can experience the miracle[9] — which is itself a suspension of the laws of nature. Hashem acts toward him in this way, "measure for measure."[10]

What has been said also takes on a more general dimension, applying to our entire nation. This is indeed what occurred "at that time, in those days."[11] Israel, humble among the nations, stood up against a mighty nation, Greece. Thus "the strong were placed in the hands of the weak, the many in the hands of the few."[11]

I send you my blessing on the occasion of Chanukah* and ask you to convey my greetings to all the members of your family. With my blessing of immediate teshuvah,* immediate redemption,

Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson

P.S. I have asked that a few of the books published by our publishing house be sent to you in a separate parcel. I am certain that they will interest you.

Notes:

(1) See also letter no. 204.
(2) See, regarding him, letter no. 135, which was also addressed to him.
(3) During the Second World War. See in particular the Reshimot* — the personal notebooks the Rebbe wrote for his own use — which contain various texts composed in these cities.
(4) To ensure that the elevation resulting from the trial is permanently acquired.
(5) Ordinary life, after the trial.
(6) Of his life, and must therefore act against his deepest personality — since it is said that "a person is capable of giving everything he possesses to save his life." To deliberately accept risking one's life to preserve one's Judaism is therefore not a natural situation and draws upon the deepest forces emanating from the Jewish soul.
(7) Which he is unable to bring to the surface in normal times.
(8) The fact of reaching such a level of self-abnegation — of being ready to give one's life — means that, if one's life is nonetheless preserved, one can no longer live in the same way.
(9) In this case, having been saved from Nazi-occupied Europe.
(10) Adopting toward this person the same attitude that he himself had toward Hashem.
(11) According to the formula of the Chanukah* liturgy, the festival during which this letter was written.

קעה

ב"ה ג' חנוכה, תש"ה
ידידי הנכבד והנעלה, מר דב פדבר

שלום וברכה!

זה איזה פעמים שאלתי את מר בזבורודקא ע"ד הנעשה את כ' ואת כב"ב והנאני לשמוע אשר הסתדר כאן ושלום לו ולכל משפחתו.

ועתה שמחתי לראות מכתבו הקצר ואף שאינו מזכיר בו דבר אדות עצמו.

עורר בי מכתבו זכרונות ימי היותנו בעיר וישי וניצא, כל אחד בתנאי חיים שלא הורגל בהם.

וכשנעקר אדם מסביבה שבה נתיישן הרי עד שיתרגל בתנאים ודרישות החדשות, נראים בו קוים מצורתו הפנימית כמו שהיא בלי כחל ובלי שרק שהחברה דורשת.

ולפעמים תכופות קוים אלה מגלים את הטוב הצפון באדם זה ואשר אפשר שגם הוא בעצמו לא ידע אדותו מפני היות הטוב מכוסה בשכבת "נמוסי העולם", ואזי אשריו אם לא יניח לקוים אלה להתעלם עוד גם בבואו אל המנוחה.

במצב נפשי כזה - אבל במדה גדולה (באיכות ובכמות) ביותר - נמצא האדם גם בשעה של מסירת נפש, שאז מתגלים בו כחות נעלמים, כחות עצמיים, ולכן ביכלתו לשנות אח"כ חייו מן הקצה אל הקצה.

וזהו הקשר וה"מדה כנגד מדה" בזה שבעד מסירת נפש - ענין הפך הטבע של האדם - נעשה לו נס - ענין היפך הטבע הכללי.

וכן הוא גם בכלל, האומה כלה, וכמו שהי' בימים ההם בזמן הזה: ישראל עם קטן בגוים התקומם נגד מלכות יון האדירה, ועי"ז נמסרו גבורים ביד חלשים, רבים ביד מעטים, כו'.

בברכת חנוכה ובפ"ש כל משפחתו, לאלתר לתשובה לאלתר לגאולה.

הרב מנחם מ. שניאורסאהן

נ.ב. צויתי לשלוח לו - בחבילה מיוחדת - איזה מספרי הוצאותינו אשר בטח יענינו אותו.

קעה
מהעתק המזכירות.

ידידי... פדבר : אגרת נוספת אליו - לקמן רד.

בזבורודקא : דלעיל ח"א אגרת קלה.

היותנו בעיר וישי וניצא : על תקופה זו ראה מבוא לאג"ק אדמו"ר מוהריי"צ נ"ע ח"ה ע' 22-21.