5925 —עלי' אמיתית לארץ הקודש: עליית הנשמה ע"י חיי תורה; וברכות שבני ישראל מאחלים זה לזה

B"H, 15 Kislev, 5718
Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter of 1/12^[1], in which you acknowledge receipt of a letter of blessing for the New Year^[2] and ask whether perhaps the letter was meant for another man of the same name, since until now you had not been in correspondence with us.

Now, although you are right in these words of yours, nevertheless, since everything is by Divine Providence, may it be G‑d's will that the blessings be fulfilled together with the blessings of the rest of the Jewish people, who wish one another well. As is known from the story of the Alter Rebbe^[3], author of the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch: when our Father in Heaven sees the good relations and the good blessings that Jews wish one another, He adds to His blessings, beyond fulfilling those blessings. It is like a father of children among people, for whom the closeness of mind between his children gives the greatest gratification, and the father adds to his gifts to these children of his.

It is my hope that since, in the words of your letter, "I went up to the Land ten years ago," you surely make every effort, as far as you are able and as far as it depends on you, that this be a true aliyah^[4], that is, the ascent of the soul, by its coming closer and closer to the purpose of the ascent, which is G‑d, blessed be He, the Giver of the Torah and the mitzvah, Who is infinite and without limit. Through a way of life fitting His instruction in His Torah ("Torah" being the language of instruction)^[5], one rises on the path that ascends to Him. Even in the mouth of all the nations of the world this land is called the Holy Land, because of the Beis HaMikdash and the holy places and the holy events that took place in it; and holiness, as explained in the Torah, comes through living there a life of Torah.

With blessings for good news in all of the above,
In the name of the Rebbe shlita,
Secretary

Notes

1. Your letter of 1/12 (מכתבו מיום 1/12): That is, of 1 December (1957).

2. A letter of blessing for the New Year (מכתב ברכת השנה): A letter of blessing for the New Year sent to him from here, though he had not written before; so he asked whether it had been sent to another man of the same name by mistake.

3. The story of the Alter Rebbe (סיפור רבנו הזקן): See also letter 5921 above, where, also in connection with the blessings Jews give one another, the Rebbe cites "the ruling from Above, as the Alter Rebbe told it" on the power of a chassidic farbrengen; and the notes there.

4. A true aliyah (עלי' אמיתית): A play on words: he wrote "I went up (alisi) to the Land", i.e., moved to Eretz Yisrael; the Rebbe hopes that it be a true aliyah, an ascent of the soul, coming closer to the purpose of the ascent, G‑d, through a life according to the Torah.

5. The language of instruction (לשון הוראה): The name "Torah" comes from hora'ah, instruction: the Torah instructs a person in the way by which he rises.

Summary

This letter answers a man in Eretz Yisrael who received a New Year's blessing and wondered whether it was meant for someone else: since all is by Divine Providence, may the blessings be fulfilled, for G‑d adds blessing when Jews bless one another. It hopes that his move to the Holy Land ten years earlier is a true "aliyah", an ascent of the soul through a life of Torah, which is what makes the land holy.