Igrot Kodesh · Letter 4131 — Chinuch

B"H

24 Shevat 5716

Brooklyn, New York

To all the friends of proper education and, in particular,

to all the participants in the annual celebration of Beis Sarah,

may Hashem* grant you long life,

I greet you and bless you,

The annual celebration of the Beis Sarah schools will take place on Sunday, the first day of Rosh Chodesh* Adar, in the week of Parshas* Terumah, which recounts the building of the Sanctuary and the Temple. This recalls and underscores the importance of women and girls, who lead to action and set the example in all phases of Jewish life.

Indeed, the Torah* tells us that these women were the first to build the sacred place in which the Divine Presence* was to be revealed. Likewise, they refused to take part in the golden calf, which was the antithesis of this Sanctuary.

A Jewish woman who has received a good education in the spirit of the Torah* possesses an awareness, through a deep and blessed sense of Hashem*, of what is wholesome and must be strengthened, and of what is harmful and must be removed from Jewish life.

In our days, good and evil, light and darkness are very often confused. It is therefore even more fundamental than before to give girls a Torah* education based on sacred values, so that they can fulfill the mission that is theirs as mistresses of the home, assuming, to a great extent, the responsibility for what constitutes the Jewish home.

In the Beis Sarah schools, girls are prepared from their youngest age to perpetuate the tradition of our mothers — Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah — of all the generations of faithful Jewish mothers who guarded and preserved the foundations of the Jewish home and life.

I therefore issue a fervent appeal to all who value Jews and authentic Judaism — the one being inconceivable without the other — and who appreciate the true importance of educating girls based on sacred values. I address myself to the Chassidim* in particular, so that all come to the aid of the Beis Sarah schools, founded by my father-in-law, the Rebbe*, whose merit protects us, by gathering the financial means that will make it possible to maintain these institutions and develop them.

The merit of strengthening the education of Jewish girls in the spirit of the Tradition of Israel will protect the donors and all those who lend their aid. Hashem* will assist them in everything they need, materially and spiritually.

With my blessing for all that is good,

M. Schneerson,