4795 —לימוד חסידות בבית מלון – לחפש הזדמנויות ולא להמתין להן

B"H, 2 Marcheshvan, 5717

Brooklyn.

The veteran Chassid, G‑d-fearing man, distinguished and honored, engaged in communal needs, our teacher Rabbi Dovid, may he live

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I acknowledge receipt of your letter of 28 Tishrei. May Hashem, blessed be He, help that from now on you report only good news regarding all the matters you write about, and that things go from good to even better.

As for what you write about your stay at the hotel and the content of the lectures there — it is a pity and a sorrow that you did not carry out your good intention to teach them Chassidus (Divrei Elokim Chaim, "the words of the living G‑d"). On the contrary: the fact that the main speaker said the audience was not used to it is itself a pointing finger^[1], showing that you should be the first to reveal this part of Torah to them. The main speaker "prophesied without knowing what he prophesied"^[2], as unfortunately happens quite often with people.

What the main speaker presents as an argument — that people are not used to such studies — has already been answered and explained at relative length in the Kuntres Limud HaChassidus^[3].

It goes without saying that I do not mean to pain you with the above, only to draw your attention, so that in the future you look out for opportunities of this kind. In our days it is not enough to wait for such an opportunity; one must seek it out. As is known from the sicha of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, on the precise wording "one who is engaged (osek) in Torah, engaged in a mitzvah": this must be like a business (eisek) in material matters, where one does not wait until someone comes along and proposes a deal, but seeks out the customer and persuades him, etc.^[4] — and this is easily understood.

The pidyon nefesh in your letter will be read at an auspicious time at the holy resting place of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, of saintly memory.

With blessing for good news.

Publisher's notes

Rabbi Dovid (מו"ה דוד): Tenenhaus, Bathurst. Additional letters to him: above, vol. 13, letter 4601, and the sources noted there.

Notes

[1] A pointing finger (הוראה באצבע): the speaker's remark that the audience is not used to studying Chassidus is no reason to give it up; on the contrary, it points to exactly where someone needs to be the first to reveal this part of the Torah.

[2] Prophesied without knowing what he prophesied (ניבא ולא ידע מה ניבא): after the Sages' expression מתנבאה, ואינה יודעת מה מתנבאה, "she prophesied and did not know what she prophesied" (Sotah 12b). The speaker said something true — the audience is not used to it — without grasping its implication: that they must be taught.

[3] Kuntres Limud HaChassidus (קונטרס לימוד החסידות): a pamphlet by the Previous Rebbe explaining the obligation and need to study Chassidus, which answers the claim that it should not be taught because people are unaccustomed to it.

[4] Like a business (ווי אן עסק בגשמיות): the word "engaged" (osek) in Torah and mitzvos comes from eisek, commerce. Just as a merchant does not sit and wait for someone to offer him a deal but goes out to find the buyer and convince him, so in spreading Torah and Chassidus one must not wait for the opportunity but seek it out.

Summary

This letter regrets that the recipient did not teach Chassidus at a hotel because the main speaker said the audience was unused to it. That remark shows he should be the first to reveal this part of Torah; today one must seek out such opportunities like a merchant seeking customers, as the Previous Rebbe taught.