5955 —שיקולים בקניית בית: מצב השכונה ודעת מומחה, וקבלת הוספה בי"ט כסלו ראש השנה לחסידות

B"H, 27 Kislev, 5718
Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I acknowledge receipt of your two letters, with the enclosure in your first letter. Many thanks^[1] for the good news of the beginning of the settling of your brother-in-law and his family, may they live, in the Holy Land, may it be built and established^[2]. May it be G‑d's will that the matter of livelihood be livelihood materially and spiritually together; and surely you, for your part, encourage and strengthen him not only materially but spiritually as well; and this is easy to understand^[3].

As for what you write about the proposal to buy a house: you do not explain about the neighborhood, whether it is one that people are moving out of, or into, or that is stable^[4]; for a house is bought not for a few months but for at least^[5] a number of years. Nor do you write the opinion of an expert in real estate^[6], whether the terms of the purchase are good. If the answers to these two particular questions are satisfactory, it is worth doing.

It is surprising that you do not mention your farbrengen on the auspicious day of Yud-Tes Kislev, the Rosh Hashanah for the study of Chassidus and the ways of Chassidus^[7], and above all the addition in matters of Torah and mitzvos, and in the matters of the wellsprings of Chassidus and their spreading in particular; and the well-known saying of our Rebbeim, that on every Rosh Hashanah a Jew must take upon himself some addition in positive commandments, in prohibitions^[8] and in Jewish custom, and so too regarding the matters of Yud-Tes Kislev, the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus^[9]. May it be G‑d's will that you bring good tidings in all the above, and good news^[10] in visible and revealed good.

With blessing.

Notes

1. Many thanks (ת"ח): תשואות חן.

2. The Holy Land, may it be built and established (באה"ק ת"ו): בארץ הקודש תבנה ותכונן.

3. This is easy to understand (וק"ל): וקל להבין. Just as the recipient cares for his brother-in-law's material settling, he surely also encourages and strengthens him in Torah and mitzvos, since livelihood too should be "material and spiritual together."

4. Moving out of, or into, or that is stable (שמעתיקים ממנה או לתוכה או במצבה עומדת): Whether people are leaving the neighborhood, moving into it, or it is holding steady; a question that matters especially for a house bought for many years.

5. At least (כה"פ): כל הפחות.

6. Real estate (נכסי דלא ניידי): Literally "property that does not move": land and buildings.

7. The Rosh Hashanah for the study of Chassidus (ראש השנה ללימוד החסידות): Yud-Tes Kislev, the day of the Alter Rebbe's release from imprisonment in Petersburg in 5559 (1798), is called "the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus" (Hayom Yom, 19 Kislev).

8. Positive commandments, prohibitions (מ"ע, מל"ת): מצוות עשה, מצוות לא תעשה.

9. The Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus (ר"ה לחסידות): Just as on Rosh Hashanah one takes on an addition in Torah and mitzvos for the whole year, so on Yud-Tes Kislev, the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus, one should take on an addition in the study and ways of Chassidus and in spreading them.

10. Good news (בשו"ט): בשורות טובות.

Summary

The Rebbe welcomes the news of the recipient's brother-in-law settling in the Holy Land and blesses him with livelihood both material and spiritual. On buying a house, he asks two questions first: is the neighborhood declining, growing or stable, and what does a real-estate expert say about the terms; if both answers are good, he should go ahead. He wonders that the recipient wrote nothing of his Yud-Tes Kislev farbrengen and of the resolutions one should take on that "Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus."