5945 —"וברכך ה' בכל אשר תעשה": עשיה אמיתית בחיפוש שידוך ובהסתדרות בארץ הקודש

B"H, 23 Kislev, 5718
Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

After a very long interruption, your letter of the 17th of the month of redemption^[1] was received. You write that your situation has not changed, to your sorrow, etc., that you see no development at all, and that your situation is bad in every respect, may G‑d spare us.

My view is clear that all of the above is not right. That is, the fact that your situation has not changed is not, as you conclude, a matter for sorrow, but simply because Scripture says, "And the L‑rd your G‑d will bless you in all that you do"^[2]; and "do" means real doing, not merely to discharge one's obligation so as to be able to say that one has already done something. Accordingly, there is no sorrow in the situation not having changed, since this is the way of our world, as the Torah has made known, and as explained in many places, among them Kuntres Umaayan, maamar 23^[3], that it must come specifically through a person's own doing. All the more so^[4] in matters of a shidduch, of which our Sages said that it must be like one who searches for his lost object^[5]. It is therefore strange in this matter that you have decided on your own that it is difficult for you to find a match in the Holy Land^[6] and only abroad, which is the opposite of reality. If you will listen to my opinion, you should uproot this decision of yours entirely and make efforts, in the manner fitting for G‑d-fearing people, toward a good match; and the Holy One, blessed be He, Who pairs couples^[7], will provide you with your match at a good and successful hour. May it be G‑d's will that you decide as above soon and fully, and that you also^[8] become engaged soon.

All of the above applies also to your getting settled. Although settling does not demand as much^[9] effort as the above, as in the saying of our Sages just cited, this too must be "the toil of your hands"^[10] and your own doing, to settle in the Holy Land, both as regards a match and getting settled in general. Then you will soon bring good news in all the above.

With blessing.

Notes

1. The 17th of the month of redemption (טו"ב לחדש הגאולה): טו"ב = 17 by gematria; the month of redemption is Kislev, the month of Yud-Tes Kislev, the Festival of Redemption.

2. "And the L‑rd your G‑d will bless you in all that you do" (וברכך ה' אלקיך בכל אשר תעשה): Devarim 15:18. That is, the blessing comes upon what a person does; so where there is no real doing, there is no cause to wonder that the situation has not changed.

3. Kuntres Umaayan, maamar 23 (קונט' ומעין מא' כ"ג): Kuntres Umaayan of the Rebbe Rashab, discourse 23. בכ"מ = בכמה מקומות; שצ"ל = שצריך להיות.

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

5. Like one who searches for his lost object (כמחזר אחר אבדתו): Kiddushin 2b: "It is the way of a man to pursue a woman, and not the way of a woman to pursue a man... It is like a man who lost an object: who searches for whom? The owner of the lost object searches for his lost object."

6. The Holy Land... abroad (באה"ק ת"ו... בחו"ל): בארץ הקודש תבנה ותכונן ("the Holy Land, may it be built and established"); בחוץ לארץ.

7. Who pairs couples (המזווג זיווגים): After the saying of our Sages (Bereishis Rabbah 68:4) that since the Holy One, blessed be He, finished creating His world, He "sits and pairs couples".

8. Also (ג"כ): גם כן.

9. As much (כ"כ): כל כך. "The saying of our Sages just cited" is "like one who searches for his lost object" (Note 5).

10. "The toil of your hands" (יגיע כפיך): After Tehillim 128:2: "When you eat the toil of your hands, you will be happy, and it will be good for you."

Summary

G‑d blesses a person "in all that you do", so a situation that does not change calls for real action, not sorrow. A match must be sought actively, "as one searches for a lost object"; the writer should drop his notion that he can find one only abroad and look in earnest in the Holy Land, and settling there likewise requires the toil of his own hands.