Igrot Kodesh · Letter 246 — Bar Mitzvah · Age of Thirteen and the Two Souls

6 Elul 5706

To the honorable Rav Chanoch Hendel Havlin, may he live, Jerusalem.

I was glad to receive news of the forthcoming Bar Mitzvah* of his son Eliezer, may he live, and I hereby bless him that he should enter under the wings of the Shechinah* with joy and a good heart, and that from this day forward he should go from strength to strength in Torah* and mitzvot*.

Regarding the significance of the Bar Mitzvah* age of thirteen years: the source given by Rashi* [1] on Tractate Nazir 29b is Shimon and Levi at the time of the attack on Shechem, where Levi* was exactly thirteen years old [2], and the verse calls him 'ish'* (man).

There are three aspects to a Bar Mitzvah* boy beginning the observance of mitzvot*:

1. The war against the body and the animal soul* (nefesh habehamit*).
2. The revealing of divine light.
3. The receiving of divine help from Above.

As explained in Likkutei Torah* and Torah Or*:

— Shimon* comes from the root 'shemiya'* (hearing) — the aspect of receiving and absorbing.
— Levi* comes from the root 'levayah'* (accompanying) [4] — the aspect of the divine light accompanying and not departing.
— Eliezer* means 'my help is Hashem' — the aspect of receiving divine assistance and being victorious.

May your son Eliezer fulfill all three aspects, and may you have much Chassidic* nachas* from him.

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A) I acknowledge with thanks the yahrzeit* [3] requests that were sent. May the Rebbe* [6] be a good advocate for us all.

B) The price of Sefer HaSichot* is ten dollars* [7], and for yeshiva* students — eight dollars*.

C) Books that are to be found in Eretz Yisrael* [8] must have been purchased directly and not through here; kindly check into this matter.

D) There is a question regarding the deed of sale and the title documents for the Hebron property belonging to our Rebbe* [6] — of Merkaz L'Inyanei Chinuch* [9]. Please inquire about this and let me know.

With blessings,
M. Schneerson