6576 —על העתקה, מעורבות בקהילה ומקור הברכה האמיתי

B"H, 1st of Kislev, 5719
Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

After yet another very long interruption, your letter of the 19th of Cheshvan was received, in which you write about your wife's state of mind in connection with your move to..., and attribute it to your being alone there, etc.

It is greatly astonishing about Anash^[1], that even matters which are visible, and stand out, even to the eyes of flesh, they pay no attention to; and not only that, but they seek interpretations and explanations by crooked paths.

My meaning is simple: you surely remember that when we spoke about your move to..., it was bound up with this — and I believe it was written explicitly once and twice — that on coming there you would occupy yourselves with spreading Judaism in general and Chassidus in particular^[2]. And when you take stock of all the years you have been there, on the one hand one sees the kindnesses of G‑d^[3] as regards the flow of blessing from Above; and "great is the desolation"^[4], especially as regards your work, and the work of your wife in the matters suited to her, in spreading Judaism and spreading Chassidus. That being so, it is natural, and not only a matter of segulah^[5], that the move is not turning out well; and the reasons you write are no more than effects^[6], and among the enticements of the yetzer to cover up the truth.

I can of course imagine the excuses for the scantiness of the work and its deficiency: because so-and-so does not conduct himself as he should, and we are preoccupied with matters of livelihood, etc. But it is also understood that they do not even fall within the category of an excuse:

a) Is it because so-and-so does not conduct himself as he should that you must lessen your own work? Especially since, as said above, the success of your livelihood depends on this very work.

b) And likewise as regards the second point (preoccupation with livelihood): for this very work is what brings into being the blessing Above for the matters of your livelihood, and for the success of the move in general.

From this one understands the wonder: the greatest efforts are invested in preparing the natural vessel below to receive the blessing^[7], and this is offered as an excuse for not acting with regard to the blessing itself, at its source Above — for there has to be something to draw into the vessel; and occupation with what is secondary is secondary compared to occupation with what is essential^[8], and this is easy to understand^[9].

It is understood that in all the above I do not mean to cause pain to anyone^[10], nor merely to preach mussar, but rather^[11] with regard to the future, and the very near future; especially since, on the one hand, it is now easier to accomplish things in matters of Chassidus in your place than it was some time ago; and on the other hand, at any rate^[12] now one sees tangibly, with the eyes of flesh, how nothing is being done and nothing accomplished as regards the development of Chabad: for all the activities were a beginning for a moment, for some time, and then they stopped; and another activity for some time, and a stop, etc.

May it be G‑d's will that you bring good news very soon regarding the above, that is to say^[13], the broadening of activities in all areas of Chassidus in your pure camp^[14], up to the manner of "you shall spread out, etc."^[15]

With blessing for good tidings^[16] in all the above.

Notes

1. Anash (אנ"ש): אנשי שלומנו, "the men of our fellowship", the Chassidim.

2. Spreading Judaism in general and Chassidus in particular (הפצת היהדות בכלל וחסידות ביחוד): Based on the letter of the Baal Shem Tov (printed at the beginning of Kesser Shem Tov): when he ascended to the chamber of Mashiach and asked "When will the Master come?", he was answered: when your teaching becomes known and your wellsprings spread outward. The phrase is from Mishlei 5:16: "Let your wellsprings spread outward."

3. G‑d (השי"ת): השי"ת = השם יתברך.

4. "Great is the desolation" (ורבה העזובה): The words of the pasuk, Yeshayahu 6:12: "And G‑d will remove the people far away, and great will be the desolation in the midst of the land"; Rashi there: "many desolate places will be in the midst of the land." Here it is borrowed: much of what should have been done was left undone.

5. Not only a matter of segulah (ולא רק ענין סגולי): Not only because occupation with spreading Judaism and Chassidus draws blessing from Above (as explained further on), but also in the natural course of things: since the very purpose of the move was this work, when the work is lacking, the move itself does not turn out well.

6. Effects (מסובבים): Results, not causes. The loneliness and the state of mind he writes about are not the reason the move is not turning out well; they are an outcome of the real reason, the scantiness of the work in spreading Judaism and Chassidus.

7. The natural vessel below to receive the blessing (הכלי טבעי למטה לקבלת הברכה): That a person's effort in the natural way is only a vessel to receive the blessing from Above: see Devarim 15:18: "And G‑d your G‑d will bless you in all that you do", and the Sifri there (piska 123): the blessing rests on the work of a person's hands, not when he sits idle.

8. Secondary compared to what is essential (והעסק בהטפל, טפל הוא לגבי העסק בהעיקר): Compare Berachos 35b: "The earlier generations made their Torah fixed and their work occasional; both this and that endured in their hands." When the essential is kept essential and the secondary secondary, the secondary succeeds too.

9. This is easy to understand (וק"ל): וק"ל = וקל להבין.

10. I do not mean to cause pain to anyone (אין כוונתי להכאיב למי שהוא): See also below, letter 6626 (5 Teves 5719), in reply to a letter on this one: there the Rebbe clarifies that he did not mean to cause distress nor to direct them to live frugally, but to arouse them to occupy themselves with the Chabad institution in their place as a channel for livelihood, and to worry less.

11. But rather (כ"א): כ"א = כי אם.

12. At any rate (עכ"פ): עכ"פ = על כל פנים.

13. That is to say (ז.א.): ז.א. = זאת אומרת.

14. Your pure camp (במחנם הט'): במחנם הטהור, i.e. your holy community.

15. "You shall spread out, etc." (ופרצת וגו'): Bereishis 28:14 (Parshas Vayetzei): "Your seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south"; Rashi there: "u'faratzta — and you shall grow strong." That is: spreading in every direction, without limit.

16. Good tidings (לבשו"ט): לבשורות טובות.

Summary

Replying to a Chassid whose wife is unhappy since their move, the Rebbe points out that the move was undertaken for the sake of spreading Judaism and Chassidus there, and that work has been neglected: that, not loneliness, is why the move is not turning out well. Excuses about others' conduct or the burden of livelihood do not hold, since that work is what draws down the blessing for livelihood itself. He means no rebuke for its own sake, but asks for steady, expanding activity from now on.