5932 —נתינת יותר ממעשר מן השכר, עצות לשכחה, וקביעות עתים בפנימיות התורה

B"H, 18 Kislev, 5718
Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter of 13 Kislev, in which you write about your work as a sofer, and whether you should continue in it or not.

It is proper that from your salary in this work you give to charity more than a tenth, and close to a fifth^[1]. This will draw down blessing on the rest of the wages, as in the words of the Alter Rebbe in his holy book, the Tanya, chapter 34^[2]: "And although he gives only a fifth, the fifth raises with it all four other parts to G‑d, to be a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He."

As to what you write about forgetfulness: the known advice for it is to be careful about Ezra's immersion^[3], to know by heart some chapters of Mishnayos and at least one chapter of the holy book of Tanya, and to reduce idle talk and idle thoughts.

As to what you write about success in your learning and in your deeds: you need to set fixed times, and it is very good to set every day at least a short time for learning the inner dimension of the Torah, which in the holy Zohar is called the Tree of Life^[4], where there is no place at all for forgetfulness, etc., nor any hold for any undesirable matter, as explained by Moshe Rabbeinu, the Faithful Shepherd, in Zohar III, 124b, and in its explanation in the Iggeres HaKodesh of the Alter Rebbe, section 26. And our Sages, of blessed memory, have made known: "You have toiled, and you have found"^[5].

With blessing for good news in all that was said,

In the name of the Rebbe, shlita

Secretary

Notes

1. More than a tenth, and close to a fifth (יותר ממעשר וקרוב לחומש): More than the tithe of one's money (maaser) and up to nearly a fifth (chomesh), the choice measure of giving charity.

2. Tanya, chapter 34 (תניא פרק ל"ד): There (Tanya ch. 34): "And although he gives only a fifth, the fifth raises with it all four parts to G‑d, to be a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He, as is known from the saying of our Sages that the mitzvah of charity is equal to all the sacrifices." The charity given from one's earnings elevates and sanctifies the rest of the money too, and so blessing comes on the rest of the wages.

3. Ezra's immersion (טבילת עזרא): The immersion in a mikveh that Ezra the Scribe instituted after a nocturnal emission (Bava Kamma 82b: "and he instituted immersion for those who have had an emission").

4. The Tree of Life (אילנא דחיי): The words of the Raaya Mehemna (Zohar III, 124b), quoted and explained in Iggeres HaKodesh 26: "Because the Jewish people will in the future taste of the Tree of Life, which is this book of the Zohar, they will go out of exile through it in mercy... for their sustenance will come only from the side of the Tree of Life, where there is no difficulty from the side of evil and no dispute." The inner dimension of the Torah is the "Tree of Life," in which evil has no hold, and so forgetfulness, which does not come from the side of holiness, has no place there either.

5. "You have toiled, and you have found" (יגעת ומצאת): Megillah 6b: "If a person tells you, 'I have toiled and not found,' do not believe him... 'I have toiled and found,' believe him."

Summary

Charity of more than a tithe from one's wages elevates the rest of the money and brings blessing on it. Forgetfulness is countered by purity, by knowing Torah by heart and by guarding speech and thought; and a daily fixed time in the inner Torah, the Tree of Life where nothing undesirable takes hold, brings success to those who toil.