5923 —קניית קרקע לבית החיים לאנ"ש, ושיקול כל הצדדים

B"H, 13 Kislev, 5718
Brooklyn.

To the board of Beis HaMidrash Lubavitch and Agudas Chabad in ...^[1],
may G‑d be with them, may they live

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter of 11 Kislev, in which you write about a proposal to buy a plot of land for a cemetery^[2], etc., and the positive aspects of this.

It is surprising that you do not mention whether there is any aspect to the contrary. For it is brought in many places, among them in the sichah of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, of Yud-Tes Kislev 5694, that there is nothing in the world without a mixture of good and bad^[3]. What interests me is whether the above does not give occasion for complaints from the board of the cemetery of the chareidim^[4], who, it seems, already proposed, and even asked, that you join in buying their cemetery, etc. I do not intend to magnify the concern, for the proposal you write about in your letter is right in itself; therefore one should not be stringent in this, on the contrary. My view in all matters of Anash, wherever they are, is already known; and with regard to them, as I have written several times to Anash, may they live, in your community: they have a great possibility to increase activities in all areas, except that for utterly strange reasons they do not do so. It is understood that every activity of Chassidim is not only desirable but good, and also necessary. Would that in this the words of the Mishnah be fulfilled, "one mitzvah brings another"^[5]: that one achievement bring about, even against their will, expansion in all other matters, until awareness increases and they come to recognize that expansion in all areas is not only possible but also necessary; and not only will it not encroach on the existing matters, it will even help to establish and develop them.

The conclusion from the above: if there are no clear negative aspects, you should make every effort to buy the said land. And in their days and in our days may the complete and true redemption come, and the promise be fulfilled, "And I will remove the spirit of impurity from the land"^[6], and "G‑d will wipe away tears, etc."^[7], "He will revive us after two days; on the third day He will raise us up, and we will live before Him"^[8]: the soul united with the body in this world^[9]. And surpassing them all: that there will be eternal life.

Surely you will hold a farbrengen on the coming auspicious day of Yud-Tes Kislev in the proper manner, and the impression of the farbrengen will be felt throughout all the days of the year of this Rosh Hashanah^[10], in thought, speech and action, also in everyday life.

With blessings for good news, and for a joyous and active farbrengen.

Publisher's notes

Printed in Likkutei Sichos, vol. 23, p. 513.

Notes

1. In ... (אשר ב...): The name of the city was left out in print.

2. A cemetery (ביה"ח): ביה"ח = בית החיים, literally "the house of life", the customary name for a cemetery; so too the end of the letter, which blesses them with the promises of the resurrection of the dead. The proposal was to buy land for a cemetery for Anash.

3. A mixture of good and bad (תערובות טו"ר): טו"ר = טוב ורע. Even a good thing has a negative side, and that side too has to be weighed, not only "the positive aspects".

4. The board of the cemetery of the chareidim (הנהלת ביה"ח של החרדים): The board of the cemetery of the local chareidi community, which had already proposed that Anash join in buying its cemetery, and might now resent Anash buying a cemetery of their own.

5. One mitzvah brings another (מצוה גוררת מצוה): Avos 4:2, שמצוה גוררת מצוה.

6. And I will remove the spirit of impurity from the land (ואת רוח הטומאה אעביר מן הארץ): Zechariah 13:2.

7. G‑d will wipe away tears (ומחה ה' דמעה): Yeshayahu 25:8: בלע המות לנצח ומחה ה' אלקים דמעה מעל כל פנים, "He will swallow up death forever, and G‑d will wipe away tears from every face."

8. He will revive us after two days (ויחיינו מיומים): Hoshea 6:2. Targum Yonasan there explains "on the third day" as the day of the resurrection of the dead.

9. The soul united with the body in this world (הנשמה מאוחדה עם הגוף בעוה"ז): At the resurrection the soul will return and be united with the body in this world; and surpassing all, there will be eternal life, "He will swallow up death forever". The blessing suits the subject of the letter, the purchase of land for a cemetery.

10. This Rosh Hashanah (ר"ה זה): Yud-Tes Kislev, the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus: as the head gives life to all the limbs, the impression of the farbrengen should be felt throughout the year. See letter 5921 above and the notes there.

Summary

This letter tells the board of a Lubavitch institution to weigh every side of a proposal to buy land for a cemetery for Anash, including possible resentment from the chareidi cemetery board, but to go ahead if there are no clear drawbacks, since every chassidic achievement leads to further expansion. It closes with the promises of the resurrection, when the soul will be united with the body in eternal life.