5901 —הוספה בלימוד החסידות בימי יו"ד–י"ט כסלו וחנוכה: היוונים התנגדו ל"תורתך" דוקא

B"H, 6 Kislev, 5718

Brooklyn.

The veteran Chassid, a God-fearing man, distinguished and honored, etc., Reb Avraham Zalman, may he live long

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter of 3 Kislev, with the good news of setting a fixed session in the study of Chassidus. May it be G‑d's will that you not only succeed in this but also add in this study. We have been assured by our Sages that "great is study, for it leads to action"^[1], and so it leads to an increase in following the paths and customs of the teachings of Chassidus; and nothing stands in the way of the will and a firm decision.

These days are especially auspicious for this — Yud and Yud-Tes Kislev and the days between them, and the days of Chanukah — even more than the rest of the year. For on Yud and Yud-Tes Kislev came the redemption of the Alter Rebbe and of his son and successor, the Mitteler Rebbe, and the redemption below is a proof of the additional strength given from Above to spread these teachings, as is understood^[2]. The days of Chanukah, too, were a victory not over opposition to Torah in general and mitzvos in general, but — as is precise in the wording fixed in the prayers of Israel — "to make them transgress the decrees of Your will"^[3], that is, that one fulfills them because this is the will of the Creator (and it makes no difference whether one understands it with one's intellect or not), and "to make them forget Your Torah" specifically. For the study of Torah in general did not matter to them, since it is wondrous wisdom, as it is written, "for it is your wisdom and your understanding in the eyes of the nations" (Devarim 4:6); rather, they did not want the study according to the holiness of the Torah and the inner dimension of the Torah — "Your Torah" specifically^[4]. See also at length, in continuation of this, the Bach on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 47, on the passage beginning "And what he wrote, that Rav Yehudah said"^[5] — which it is a mitzvah to publicize, in general, and especially among those who sit in the tent of Torah and study it.

Although you do not mention your wife, may she live, I hope that she too is involved in spreading Judaism.

With blessing,

In the name of the Rebbe shlita

Secretary

Publisher's notes

Reb Avraham Zalman (מו"ה אברהם זלמן): Weiner, Cleveland.

Notes

[1] Study, for it leads to action (תלמוד שמביא לידי מעשה): Kiddushin 40b: "Study is greater, for study leads to action." Studying Chassidus leads of itself to following its ways in practice.

[2] Yud and Yud-Tes Kislev (יו"ד וי"ט כסלו): 19 Kislev is the day of the Alter Rebbe's release from imprisonment in 5559 (1798); 10 Kislev, the Mitteler Rebbe's release in 5587 (1826). Both imprisonments were over the spreading of Chassidus. Their release below proves that strength was given from Above to spread these teachings further.

[3] To make them transgress the decrees of Your will (להעבירם מחוקי רצונך): From the Al HaNissim prayer for Chanukah: "When the wicked Greek kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to make them transgress the decrees of Your will." The Rebbe points to the precise wording: not "to make them transgress the mitzvos", but "the decrees of Your will" — the Greeks opposed keeping the mitzvos because they are the will of the Creator (as decrees beyond reason); and not "to make them forget the Torah", but "Your Torah" — the Torah as the Torah of the Holy One, blessed be He.

[4] "Your Torah" specifically (תורתך דוקא): The Greeks did not oppose studying the Torah as wisdom, but studying it as "Your Torah" — with its holiness and its inner dimension. Hence the days of Chanukah are especially suited to studying and spreading the inner dimension of the Torah, the teachings of Chassidus.

[5] The Bach on Orach Chaim 47 (ב"ח לשו"ע או"ח סי' מ"ז): The Bach (Bayis Chadash, the commentary on the Tur) explains there the saying of Rav Yehudah in the name of Rav (Nedarim 81a) on "Why was the land lost?" — "because they did not recite the blessing over the Torah first": they did study Torah, but not for its own sake — not in order to cleave to its holiness and spirituality — and so the land was lost. The Rebbe adds that it is a mitzvah to publicize this, especially among those who sit in the tent of Torah.

Summary

This letter, sent in the Rebbe's name, welcomes the recipient's fixed study of Chassidus and urges him to add to it. The days from Yud to Yud-Tes Kislev and Chanukah are especially suited: the redemptions of the Alter Rebbe and the Mitteler Rebbe gave added strength to spread Chassidus, and the Greeks opposed not Torah study as such but "Your Torah", the Torah's holiness and inner dimension.