4831 —תוכחה להנהלת צעירי אגודת חב"ד על העדר פעולות, זריזות והידור, וקשר הנשיא עם עדתו גם לאחר ההסתלקות

B"H, 12 Marcheshvan, 5717

Brooklyn.

To the board of Tzeirei Agudas Chabad in ..., may G‑d be upon them, may they live

Shalom u'Vrachah!

Your very long silence is surprising, and also distressing. After investigating it from every side, its cause apparently is a lack of proper activity, and it goes without saying that nothing has been added to the "ongoing" activities.

And what I wrote above, the expression "distressing," in truth does not suffice to express the matter fully. If the young people, whose energy is in them and who for the time being are free of the worries of earning a living, need to be aroused, encouraged and urged, and even after all that it has no effect, what will be with those who already have a millstone around their neck^[1]? And if this is so with those who have already merited to see, at least to some extent, the lights of the teachings of Chassidus and its matters, in which there is discussion and clear explanation of the virtue of alacrity and of excellence in all matters of Torah and mitzvos; and that alacrity and excellence are not merely an addition, but precisely in them one sees whether we are speaking of a servant of the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, or of someone who, in his opinion, stands in his own domain, except that he asks "what is my duty, and I will do it"^[2], and the matters are a burden on him, so he disposes of them in a way that in his opinion he has already fulfilled his duty, and returns to his independence. It is understood that such a manner of service needs encouragement, urging, giving of thanks, etc., etc., and even that sometimes succeeds and sometimes does not.

It is understood how, by the reckoning of those who act this way, those will behave who have not yet merited the light of the teachings of Chassidus and the empowerment from the leaders of Chassidus, from the Baal Shem Tov to my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, of saintly memory, whose soul rests in the hidden heights of heaven, may his merit shield us.

... It is also understood and simple that if on all the days of the year each one within the whole of Israel is required to have the days full of content, and not "a naked day"^[3], how much more so the days of the month of Tishrei, the seventh month, which is satiated with all good and is also a general good for all the days of the year. If these days are not put to use, and put to use fully, the results of this over the days of the year are understood.

It is true that I received clippings from the newspapers about the Four Species campaign. But besides the fact that this was apparently done on a small scale, and not in an organized way as needed, this does not exhaust the work that Divine Providence has granted Tzeirei Agudas Chabad to carry out. Not only does it not exhaust it, it is only a small part of it (although, like all the mitzvos, this mitzvah too includes all the mitzvos, and from it comes added strength for all the other mitzvos, both those lighter than it and those more stringent)...

Is this really, in the opinion of the board of Tzeirei Agudas Chabad, the content of the command "And Yaakov went on his way"^[4]? With "going" at such a pace, when will we reach the matters that Divine Providence has placed at our disposal, and demands of us to work in them: work (avodah) in the sense of tanning hides^[5], through which one comes to be "one who serves G‑d"^[6], and from that to a higher level, to serve G‑d, up to the level of a "faithful servant"^[7]...

With blessing for good news in all the above, out of fitting contemplation of the task of the Jewish person on earth in general, and especially of the task of the members of the community of Chassidim, for whom our holy leaders give themselves with self-sacrifice, not only in their lifetime in this world, but also after the ascent of their soul on high, as explained in the letters of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, and in several places. It is also alluded to in the saying of our Sages (Sotah 13, end of side b^[8]; and see there in Tosafos at the end of the chapter) about the first redeemer being the last redeemer, Moshe the faithful shepherd: "Moshe did not die, etc.; just as there, etc., so too here, etc." Similarly in Bamidbar Rabbah and Tanchuma (Chukas) on the verse "He came at the head of the people, etc. ... Israel"^[9]: that a faithful shepherd is bound up with the flock he tends even after his passing.

Awaiting good news.

Notes

[1] A millstone around their neck (ריחים על צוארם): after the expression of our Sages (Kiddushin 29b), "a millstone on his neck, and he is to occupy himself with Torah?"; i.e., those who are already married and carry the yoke of a livelihood.

[2] What is my duty, and I will do it (מה חובתו ואעשה): he asks only what is imposed on him as a duty, in order to discharge it.

[3] A naked day (יומא ערטילאי): Aramaic; a day empty of the content of Torah and mitzvos.

[4] And Yaakov went on his way (ויעקב הלך לדרכו): Bereishis 32:2, read in Parshas Vayeitzei, after the month of Tishrei.

[5] In the sense of tanning hides (מלשון עבוד עורות): avodah (service) shares its root with tanning hides: transforming and refining what is coarse.

[6] One who serves G‑d (עובד אלקים): after the verse "between one who serves G‑d and one who does not serve Him" (Malachi 3:18).

[7] A faithful servant (עבד נאמן): after the verse about Moshe, "Not so is My servant Moshe; in all My house he is faithful" (Bamidbar 12:7).

[8] Sotah 13, end of side b (סוטה יג, סוף ע"ב): Sotah 13b: "Some say Moshe did not die... just as there he stands and serves, so here he stands and serves."

[9] He came at the head of the people (ויתא ראשי עם): Devarim 33:21: "He came at the head of the people; he carried out the righteousness of G‑d and His judgments with Israel."