4827 —טל ומטר כהשפעות מלמעלה, פעולת התועדויות חודש תשרי על כל השנה, וויעקב הלך לדרכו

B"H, 12 Marcheshvan, 5717

Brooklyn.

To my kinsman, the Rav and Chassid, a G‑d-fearing man, distinguished and honored, who is occupied with communal needs, Rabbi Yehuda Leib, may he live

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I acknowledge receipt of your letter of 7 Marcheshvan, the day on which the recitation of "dew and rain for a blessing" begins in the Holy Land^[1] (see Likkutei Torah, Haazinu^[2], that dew and rain are the totality of the influences from Above, which come either through an awakening from Above or through an awakening from below^[3]; see there).

In it you write about the farbrengens during the Season of our Rejoicing in the seventh month^[4], which is satiated with all good. May it be G‑d's will that they have an actual effect on the whole year, so that all undesirable matters keep diminishing and all matters of holiness keep increasing. Fortunate is the portion of all those who exert themselves in this, as our holy Torah instructs, with toil of the soul and toil of the body, for the merit of the many assists them^[5] and they take a share at the head.

With greetings to all your fellows in the above holy work, and for success in the mission of each one of us within the whole of Israel: "And Yaakov went on his way"^[6], an incomparable going, which comes precisely through the descent of the soul into the body, a descent for the sake of an ascent, higher even than the level of "they arose in [G‑d's] thought"^[7], as explained in several places.

With blessing.

Publisher's notes

Rabbi Yehuda Leib (מו"ה יהודא ליב): Slonim, Jerusalem. Other letters to him: above, vol. 13, letter 4436, and the letters noted in the notes there.

Notes

[1] The recitation of dew and rain begins in the Holy Land (יום התחלת האמירה באה"ק ת"ו טל ומטר לברכה): in the Land of Israel the request "and give dew and rain for a blessing" is added to the Shemoneh Esreh from the night of 7 Marcheshvan.

[2] Likkutei Torah, Haazinu (לקו"ת האזינו): the Alter Rebbe's maamarim on Parshas Haazinu, on the verse "My teaching shall drop as the rain, my word shall distill as the dew."

[3] An awakening from Above or from below (אתעדל"ע או אתעדל"ת): an awakening from Above comes independently of man's service; an awakening from below is drawn down through man's service.

[4] The Season of our Rejoicing in the seventh month (זמן שמחתנו דחדש השביעי): Sukkos, in Tishrei, the seventh month counting from Nissan. The Rebbeim describe Tishrei as the month that "satiates" all the months of the year with every good.

[5] The merit of the many assists them (שזכות הרבים מסייעתם): see Avos 2:2: "All who work for the community should work with them for the sake of Heaven, for the merit of their fathers assists them."

[6] And Yaakov went on his way (ויעקב הלך לדרכו): Bereishis 32:2; here, the mission of every Jew in the world.

[7] They arose in [G‑d's] thought (עלו במחשבה): after the saying of our Sages (Bereishis Rabbah 1:4): "Israel arose in [G‑d's] thought." The ascent achieved through the soul's descent into the body surpasses even the soul's standing "in thought" Above, before its descent.