5950 —אור נר חנוכה המאיר מבחוץ עד דכליא ריגלא דתרמודאי, וברכת הצלחה למחנכים שרבים צריכים להם

B"H, 25 Kislev, 5718
Brooklyn.

The Rabbi and Chassid, a G‑d-fearing man, distinguished and honored, engaged in communal affairs, a man of many accomplishments, Reb Moshe Yitzchok, may he live long,^[1] and his wife, Rebbetzin Mrs. Rivkah, may she live long

Shalom u'Vrachah!

With pleasure I received your letter of the first light of Chanukah, with its enclosure.

May it be G‑d's will that for many more years you will be engaged in matters of Torah and its mitzvos with breadth, and in a manner of breadth, as it is written, "And I will walk in a broad place"^[2]; and as these days of Chanukah teach, adding more and more^[3] from day to day.

For at that time, although outside the sun had set, not only did the Children of Israel have light in their dwellings, but they were given the strength and ability to kindle a light at the entrance of their house, outside,^[4] and to add in this too, until they reach the goal. As in the allusion explained in the teachings of Chassidus, from the words of our Sages that the time for the Chanukah light is "until the feet of the Tarmodites are gone" (Shabbos 23b)^[5]: a Jewish man and woman, through the conduct described above, bring to an end the foot (even the very lowest levels) of the Tarmodites, whose letters spell mored-es, "rebelling"^[6], against G‑d and His anointed, His Torah and His mitzvos; for this too was the nature of Tarmod at that time, when their hand was strong, as brought in the words of our Sages.^[7]

And if, regarding each and every one^[8], my father-in-law, the Rebbe, said that an individual is many^[9], that is to say^[10], that he can influence many and raise them from level to level and "from strength to strength"^[11], how much more so^[12] those whom Divine Providence has placed in the field of education in pure holiness, on whom many depend: they are worthy of special success in their affairs, general and particular. As the verse of the auspicious day of Yud-Tes Kislev teaches, "He redeemed my soul in peace from battles against me, for many were with me"^[13]: the redemption in their affairs, since many depend on them, will be in a manner of true peace, that is, peace in material matters and peace in spiritual matters.

With blessing for success in all the above, and for good news^[14] in all the above.

Publisher's notes

Reb Moshe Yitzchok (מו"ה משה יצחק שי'): Hecht, New Haven. Further letters to him: above, letter 5795, and the references in the notes there.

That an individual is many (שיחיד הוא רבים): See also above, letter 5808, and the references in the notes there.

Notes

1. Reb Moshe Yitzchok (מו"ה משה יצחק שי'): R. Moshe Yitzchok Hecht and his wife Mrs. Rivkah, sent by the Previous Rebbe to work in Jewish education: first to Worcester, Massachusetts (1942), and from 1946 to New Haven, Connecticut, where they founded a Jewish day school (today the Southern Connecticut Hebrew Academy) and stood at its head. It is this work of theirs in pure Torah education that the Rebbe speaks of later in the letter.

2. "And I will walk in a broad place" (ואתהלכה ברחבה): Tehillim 119:45: "And I will walk in a broad place, for I have sought Your precepts"; Rashi: "in a halachah that is spacious and widespread in Israel." That is: that they engage in Torah and mitzvos with breadth, and that the work itself be done in a broad, expanding way.

3. Adding more and more (דמוסיף והולך): As Beis Hillel rule for the Chanukah lights (Shabbos 21b): "On the first day one lights one; from then on he adds more and more", "for one ascends in holiness and does not descend."

4. Outside (מבחוץ): Shabbos 21b: "It is a mitzvah to place the Chanukah light at the entrance of one's house, outside"; Rashi: "to publicize the miracle." The Rebbe stresses "outside": not only is there light inside the house, but the outside is lit as well, even though the sun has already set.

5. "Until the feet of the Tarmodites are gone" (עד דכליא ריגלא דתרמודאי): The text reads "Shabbos 23b"; it should apparently read 21b. The passage is in Shabbos 21b: "Its mitzvah is from sunset until feet are gone from the marketplace. Until when? Rabbah bar bar Chanah said in the name of R. Yochanan: until the feet of the Tarmodites are gone"; Rashi: "the name of a people who gather thin twigs and linger in the marketplace until the people of the marketplace go home." See also vol. 14, letter 4984, where the Rebbe brings the same allusion.

6. Mored-es, "rebelling" (אותיות מורדת): The letters of תרמוד (Tarmod) rearranged spell מורדת, "rebelling". The allusion explained in Chassidus (see the maamar Ner Chanukah 5643; the maamar Mitzvasah Mishetishka HaChamah 5678; Ohr HaTorah, Chanukah, p. 941b): the Chanukah light, which burns "until the feet of the Tarmodites are gone", brings an end to rebellion against G‑d and His Torah, down to its "foot", its very lowest levels.

7. As brought in the words of our Sages (וכמובא ברז"ל): The people of Tarmod (Tadmor, Palmyra) took part in the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, as related in Yevamos 16b: "When the gentiles entered the Sanctuary, all turned to the silver and gold, and they turned to the daughters of Jerusalem"; and our Sages said (Yevamos 17a): "Israel will make a festival when Tarmod is destroyed" (see also Bereishis Rabbah, end of ch. 56). So too "at that time" of Chanukah, the hand of the rebels was strong.

8. Each and every one (כאו"א): כל אחד ואחד.

9. That an individual is many (שיחיד הוא רבים): The saying of the Previous Rebbe, "every individual is many" (see letter 5808 and the publisher's note above). No one can say that he is only one person and has no power to act, for every individual can influence many; and from this, all the more so for educators, on whom many depend.

10. That is to say (ז.א.): זאת אומרת.

11. "From strength to strength" (מחיל אל חיל): The words of the verse, Tehillim 84:8: "They go from strength to strength; each one appears before G‑d in Zion."

12. How much more so (עאכו"כ): על אחת כמה וכמה.

13. "He redeemed my soul in peace..." (פדה בשלום נפשי מקרב לי כי ברבים היו עמדי): Tehillim 55:19. It is "the verse of Yud-Tes Kislev", for when the Alter Rebbe, reciting Tehillim, reached this verse, he was set free from his imprisonment in Petersburg, as he wrote in his letter after the redemption. The Rebbe reads "for many were with me": one on whom many depend, his redemption too comes "in peace", peace materially and peace spiritually.

14. Good news (בשו"ט): בשורות טובות.

Summary

Writing on the first day of Chanukah to a couple who head a Jewish day school, the Rebbe blesses them to work in Torah and mitzvos with breadth, adding light day by day like the Chanukah candles. The Chanukah light shines outside even after sunset, until it ends even the lowest levels of rebellion against G‑d, for "Tarmod" spells "rebelling". If every individual can influence many, all the more so educators on whom many depend; as the verse of Yud-Tes Kislev says, "for many were with me", their redemption will come in peace, materially and spiritually.