Igrot Kodesh · Letter 9627

By the grace of Hashem,

5 Tevet* 5729,
Brooklyn, New York,

To Mr. Ben Zion Goldberg[1],

I greet you and bless you,

I received, with pleasure, your letter of 5/12, which acknowledged receipt of my previous correspondence. I hope that we will see each other at the Chassidic* gathering of 19 Kislev*, which you have attended several times previously. Nevertheless, I wished to personally acknowledge receipt of your letter, in accordance with the statement of our Sages[2]: "It is better to act oneself rather than to delegate someone else to do it." Certainly, a personal letter is also a form of delegation. Nevertheless, given that you are traveling, I prefer to acknowledge receipt in writing.

I would also like to express a wish, basing myself on one of the allusions discovered in the days of Chanukah*, which have just passed. The Mitzvah* of the Chanukah light is fulfilled, on the first evening, in the most perfect manner by lighting a single candle. Despite this, every Jew is taught[3] not to be content with the same situation the following day. Indeed, physical existence develops and one receives an additional day. One's soul must therefore also rise, in everything that concerns it, and first and foremost in the Torah* and its Mitzvot, which are compared to candles and light, "for the candle is a Mitzvah and the Torah is a light"[4]. However good the moral situation of a certain day may be, it is nevertheless not sufficient for the following day, like someone who would light only one candle on the second evening of Chanukah, in which case the fulfillment of the Mitzvah would not be as complete as it should be.

I do not think my intention is to be a preacher, nor that you wish to hear a sermon. What is said above is added solely to my wish that this allusion of Chanukah be fulfilled in you and in all of us, which provides the answer to one of the painful problems of our era — the opinion that a man who is built and structured no longer needs to impose upon himself scruples and fears, in other words, no longer needs to observe the Prohibitions with all the stringencies that were still necessary for him when he was impetuous, unstructured and uncultured.

The answer provided by this Chanukah allusion is as follows. Development, advancement in every domain of human life must be accompanied by development, advancement in spirituality or, in another formulation, in the life of the soul, or, to put it more simply, in morality, Chassidut* and the rest.

Moreover, if material advancement is not accompanied by progress of the soul, it is, in many cases and even very often, the opposite of development for that soul. Indeed, it calls into question the balance between the one and the other and thereby becomes an obstacle to moral advancement. In other words, there is in such a case a regression which will ultimately and necessarily call into question and even destroy physical existence.

In fact, we have observed, in our generation, many applications of this principle, in accordance with the terms of the verse: "they are cunning to do evil"[5], by reinforcing freedom in the literal sense and using it to free oneself from all barriers and precautions. And material decadence has resulted from this.

It is known, as you have surely heard, that there are plans to travel to the moon and the necessary precautions are sought to avoid bringing there the bacteria and viruses to which one is accustomed on earth, because it is not known whether one will be able to resist them under the conditions prevailing there. And the same applies in reverse, if one has the fantasy of walking on the moon and seeks to protect oneself against possible viruses. In other words, the progress that makes it possible to travel to the moon must be accompanied by increased protections and precautions. And this is not considered merely a question of comfort. It is indeed a vital problem. The same applies to every advancement in the various domains of technology. With my respects and blessing,

Notes

[1] Editor of a column in the Yiddish periodical Tog Morgen Journal. See, concerning him, letter no. 8569.
[2] In tractate Kiddushin* 41a.
[3] In accordance with the Halacha* according to which candles are lit in increasing order, per tractate Shabbat* 21b and the Shulchan Aruch*, Orach Chaim*, laws of Chanukah, chapter 671, paragraph 2.
[4] Proverbs 6, 23. See Rashi's commentary on tractate Shabbat 23b.
[5] Jeremiah 4, 22. The Rebbe underlines the terms of this verse.