5943 —סדר בתשלומי המסים בכפר חב"ד: תועלת הרבים היא התועלת האמיתית של היחיד

B"H, 23 Kislev, 5718
Brooklyn.

The Vaad (Committee) of Kfar Chabad^[1],
may G‑d be with them, may they live long

Shalom u'Vrachah!

Alarming reports have reached here concerning the disorder (or the unwillingness) that prevails regarding the payment of taxes by the village's residents; because of the non-payment, a number of the village's communal matters are suffering, that is^[2], everyone suffers. It is understood that order must be made in this. And although it is surely difficult to clear all the debts at once, an expanded meeting must set the times and manner of the payments, in keeping with each one's standing and situation and in proportion to the size of his debt. And it must be explained again and again, on the basis of the point in my previous letters^[3], that it is essential in Kfar Chabad, and all the more so^[4] wherever Jews^[5] live, that each and every one understand that the instruction of our Torah, the Torah of life, "between an individual and the many, the halachah follows the many"^[6], applies to the benefit of the individual and the benefit of the many. Moreover, this is the true benefit of the individual, not only spiritually but in plain material terms: by setting aside his private benefit for the time being, the general benefit, of which he is a part, grows; and further, by doing so he is in a position to demand, tomorrow and the day after, that others do likewise and set aside their private benefit for the public good, which is a great gain in the plain sense as well. To elaborate on something so simple, and customary in all public affairs and even in matters of partnership, is superfluous...^[7]

You will surely report in the necessary detail on the farbrengen of Yud-Tes Kislev, the Rosh Hashanah^[8] for the study of Chassidus and the ways of Chassidus, and on the days before and after it; and above all, on the practical conclusion^[9] and the action for the benefit of all the matters of Kfar Chabad, "for there G‑d commanded the blessing, life forever"^[10].

With blessing for success and for good news^[11] in all the above, and for a bright and joyous Chanukah to all the residents of the village, may G‑d be with them, may they live long.

Notes

1. The Vaad of Kfar Chabad (ועד כפר חב"ד): The village committee, the elected administration of Kfar Chabad. Earlier letters on the village's affairs: letter 5835 (9 Cheshvan 5718), in which the Rebbe wrote to a member of the committee that "the benefit of the many overrides the benefit of the individual; and in the end, since the individual is part of the many, he will surely recognize that his own benefit too is contained in the benefit of the many", and lamented that most residents treated the village's affairs "as an individual interested only in his own good and his private affairs", so that the shared matters "are neglected"; and letter 5885 (28 Cheshvan 5718), to the Vaad of Kfar Chabad, on holding the village's Yud-Tes Kislev farbrengen publicly and with an advance plan. On that farbrengen the Rebbe asks here for a report. Publisher's note on this letter: "From a copy", i.e., it was printed from a copy.

2. That is (ז.א.): זאת אומרת.

3. My previous letters (מכתבי הקודמים): See above, letter 5835, and Note 1.

4. All the more so (מכש"כ וק"ו): מכל שכן וקל וחומר.

5. Jews... each and every one (בנ"י... כאו"א): בני ישראל... כל אחד ואחד.

6. "Between an individual and the many, the halachah follows the many" (יחיד ורבים הלכה כרבים): A well-known rule of halachah: in a dispute between one authority and many, the halachah follows the many. The Rebbe applies it to benefit as well: when the benefit of the individual and the benefit of the many stand against each other, the benefit of the many comes first.

7. ...: The dots mark a part of the letter that was not printed.

8. The Rosh Hashanah (ר"ה): ראש השנה. As the Rebbe Rashab writes in his letter quoted in Hayom Yom, 19 Kislev: "This day is the Rosh Hashanah of the words of the living G‑d."

9. The practical conclusion (הבכן): Literally "the 'therefore'", what follows in practice.

10. "For there G‑d commanded the blessing, life forever" (אשר שם צוה ה' את הברכה חיים עד העולם): Tehillim 133:3. The psalm opens (133:1): "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity."

11. Good news (בשו"ט): בשורות טובות.

Summary

Alarming reports of unpaid taxes in Kfar Chabad call for order: an expanded meeting should set payment schedules suited to each resident. As the halachah follows the many, the public good comes first, and it is in fact the individual's true gain, spiritual and material. The Rebbe asks for a detailed report on the Yud-Tes Kislev farbrengen and its practical results for the village.