Igrot Kodesh · Letter 7658 — Chinuch

By the grace of Hashem,

4 Sivan* 5721,

Brooklyn,

To the great Rav, distinguished Chassid* who fears Hashem and devotes himself to communal needs, of manifold knowledge, the Rav S. Y. (note 1: Rav Shlomo Yosef Zevin of Jerusalem, author of the Talmudic Encyclopedia. See, regarding him, letter no. 7476),

I greet you and bless you,

On the occasion of the festival of Shavuos*, the time of the giving of our Torah*, which approaches, for us and for all Israel, for the good, I address to you my blessing, in the words of the master, my father-in-law, the Rebbe*, whose merit protects us, that you receive the Torah* joyously and in a profound manner. With my blessing for the festival and to give good tidings of what concerns you personally, as well as communally,

M. Schneerson,

I am a little surprised, even though I appreciate the effort this represents, and also pained that no other volume of the Talmudic Encyclopedia has yet appeared. In fact, I needed to consult it in order to delve deeper into the concept of the blessing of the house. Yet, I found nothing there on this subject. I also saw the volumes of the Tanach* with the Daas Sofrim of Rav Rabinovich (note 2: See, on this subject, letters no. 7488 and 7492). It would be good to have this work adopted by the schools of the public religious system. It is said that some wish to introduce precisely "new vessels" into it, and who knows to whom it will fall to choose them? Will such a person want these "new vessels" to contain "old wine" or else... (note 3: "Renovated" content)? If you have the possibility of intervening in this matter, you will surely do so.

* * *

By the grace of Hashem,

Days of limitation (note 1b: Which precede the festival of Shavuos*) 5721,

Brooklyn, New York,

To the distinguished and agreeable Chassid* who fears Hashem and devotes himself to communal needs, the Rav Yosef, who is called Doctor Burg (note 2b: One of the leaders of the National Religious Party. See, regarding him, letter no. 6173),

I greet you and bless you,

On the occasion of the festival of Shavuos*, the time of the giving of our Torah*, which approaches, for us and for all Israel, for the good and for the blessing, I address to you my blessing for a joyous festival and, in the words of the master, my father-in-law, the Rebbe*, that you receive the Torah* with joy and in a profound manner. With my respects and my blessing,

Note: A point is timely, all the more so since, from what I know, you appreciate humor, figures of speech, and wordplay. In this case, many of our brethren, the children of Israel, have entered the "shower" of elections. Now, according to the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov*, a Jew must draw a lesson for the service of Hashem from everything he sees and hears. May Hashem therefore grant that one deduce, through these elections, the following a fortiori reasoning: a voter is merely a man of flesh and blood. Despite this, the potential elected official strives, with all his heart and all his soul, to find favor in his eyes. For this, he recoils from no effort, no precaution, material or spiritual. Moreover, he will lose the taste of food, sleep, provided that he is indeed elected. How much more must it therefore be so toward "the One Who elects His people, Israel," all the more so since He does so "with love," as at the giving of the Torah*!

Thus, it is even more clearly that one must adopt such conduct toward Him — to find favor before the One Who elects, to be truly elected by Him. Furthermore, to a voter of flesh and blood, the elected official must bestow good, on the condition, naturally, that he keep the promises he made during the electoral period. For all that, Jews are presumed virtuous and one must admit that they are sincere (note 3b: Literally: "their mouth is in accord with their heart"). On the other hand, it is not the same for the One Who elects His people, Israel, with love. For it is He Who gives and the elected one who receives. Furthermore, what the latter must do for the Former — study the Torah* and practice its Mitzvos* — is also for his own good.

ז'תרנח

ב"ה, ד' סיון, תשכ"א
ברוקלין.
הרה"ג הרה"ח אי"א נו"נ עוסק בצ"צ צנמ"ס

כו'

מוהרש"י שי'

שלום וברכה!

לקראת חג השבועות זמן מתן תורתנו, הבא עלינו ועל כל ישראל לטובה, הנני בזה להביע ברכתי,

בלשון הרב הוא כ"ק מו"ח אדמו"ר זצוקללה"ה נבג"מ זי"ע:

לקבלת התורה בשמחה ובפנימיות.

בברכת החג ולבשו"ט בעניני הפרט והכלל

מ. שניאורסאהן
תמי' קצת (כי מובנת היגיעה הדרושה) וגם מצער על שע"ע לא הופיע עוד כרך מהאנציקלופדי' התלמודית. דרך אגב - הוזקקתי לעיון בענין ברכת הבית - ולא מצאתי בהנ"ל.

ראיתי חלקי תנ"ך אם "דעת סופרים" להרב רבינוביץ שי'. וכדאי הי' להנהיגו בבי"ס הממ"ד (כיון שע"פ השמועה - יש רוצים להכנים לשם דוקא "קנקנים חדשים" ומי יודע מי יהי' זה שיחפש אחריהם ואם יתענין שיין הישן יהי' בתוכם או כו'). ואם ביד כת"ר לפעול בזה - בטח יתענין.

ז'תרנח
מוהרש"י: זוין. אגרות נוספות אליו - לעיל ז'תעו, ובהנסמן בהערות שם.

ראיתי.. דעת סופרים: ראה לעיל אגרות ז'תפח. ז'תצב.