Igrot Kodesh · Letter 815 — Prayer

Rosh Chodesh Kislev 5711,
Brooklyn, New York,

It is unnecessary to add [1] anything to the words of my father-in-law the Rebbe in the letter he addressed to all Jews to emphasize to them the importance of studying Chassidut*. It is clear that this is directly linked to 19 Kislev, which is the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidut [2], "a propitious time to strengthen and reinforce oneself in the study of the revealed part of Torah and of Chassidut, to devote oneself to fervent prayer, to take the decision to modify one's behavior according to Chassidut, to feel a love without limit for one's fellow" [3].

The link between 19 Kislev and the diffusion of Chassidut among all the circles of the Jewish people is just as evident, according to the affirmation of the Rebbe Rashab* that "the spreading of the wellsprings of Chassidut outward [4] essentially began after Petersburg [5].

Before the revelation of Chassidut, the perception of Divinity was not within the reach of everyone. To obtain it, one had to possess a soul of great elevation. If this was not the case, one had first to repair all that could be repaired, and one thus succeeded in refining one's own person.

Thanks to Chassidut, every Jew can perceive Divinity and become permeated with it. All this process began after Petersburg [5], for the Alter Rebbe* then attained the highest elevation" [6].

* * *

When the Baal Shem Tov asked Mashiach* when he would come, the latter answered him by citing the verse (Mishlei 5:16): "When your wellsprings will spread outward." It is known that the water of a wellspring represents the highest elevation [7]. Wherever it may be, even at a very great distance, it remains considered as a wellspring, on condition that it is not separated from its origin. By contrast, if it is cut off from it, it is no longer a wellspring [8].

This, then, is what is expected of each one of us:

A) To spread

B) the wellsprings

C) also outward.

To succeed in this, one must attach oneself indefectibly to the source. This attachment to our leader, my father-in-law the Rebbe, must be ever stronger. He is at the origin of the spreading of the wellsprings of Chassidut throughout every point of the globe.

And may our eyes witness the fulfillment of the promise made by our righteous Mashiach, according to which "all the forces of evil will disappear and it will be a propitious moment, that of salvation." He will bring us the true and complete redemption.

Menachem Schneerson

Notes
(1) This letter was written by the Rebbe as a preface to the fascicle published for 19 Kislev. It appears in Sefer HaMaamarim 5711, page 134.
(2) The Rebbe notes: "See on this subject the introduction of the Kuntres U'Maayan, pages 15-18 and 24-26."
(3) The Rebbe notes: "According to the letter of my father-in-law the Rebbe, printed in fascicle 52, which was published for 19 Kislev 5708."
(4) The Rebbe notes: "Mashiach indicated that he would come then. The Baal Shem Tov says it in his well-known letter recounting the elevation of his soul on Rosh Hashanah 5507. It is printed at the end of Ben Porat Yosef, in the collection of letters of the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples, printed in Lvov in 5683..."
(5) That is to say, with the liberation of the Alter Rebbe from the Tsarist prisons.
(6) The Rebbe notes: "In the sicha of 19 Kislev 5668, Torat Shalom, p. 98 (in the current edition: p. 112). A summary is presented here."
(7) See letter 818.
(8) The Rebbe notes: "Thus rules the Tzemach Tzedek in his responsa Yoreh Deah ch. 164 §2. See also additions vol. 3 on tractate Mikvaot ch. 5 Mishnah 6..."