6601 —ברכות לסניף דטרויט על ההתועדות הראשונה של י"ט כסלו

B"H, 14th of Kislev, 5719
Brooklyn, N.Y.

To the board of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, Detroit branch, may G‑d be upon them, may they live

Shalom u'Vrachah!

With pleasure I received the announcement of the first farbrengen being held by you on the bright day, the day of Yud-Tes Kislev, coming upon us for good^[1].

My blessing is sent herewith, that it be successful, and for constant success in your work in the field of education in the purity of holiness.

True and constant success in this means spreading true Judaism, G‑d's Torah and His mitzvos, in the everyday life of ever-widening circles.

"Merit is brought about on a meritorious day"^[2] — the day of redemption, Yud-Tes Kislev^[3] — that from the farbrengen on this day there be added to the work of your branch great energy, vitality and light, and that this addition bring an addition many times over in all matters of kosher education throughout the whole year.

The story of this festival of redemption is well known among the Jewish people. Its celebration every year, and now, after a hundred and sixty years^[4], must remind and arouse each and every one of us to the necessity, especially in these days of ours, of serving G‑d through the study of His Torah, the revealed and the inner — Chassidus — a study that unites all the parts of the soul, the revealed and the inner^[5], and the fulfillment of His mitzvos with vitality and fervor.

These are founded on the love of G‑d, the love of the Torah and the love of every Jew, which are one^[6] —

as explained at length in the teachings of the Alter Rebbe^[7], author of the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch — the teaching whose righteousness came out to light^[8], revealed before all eyes, on the day of Yud-Tes Kislev.

With blessing to each and every one of those taking part in the farbrengen, and to each and every one of those who have a share in your holy work in matters of education in the purity of holiness.

[Publisher's note: Printed in Likkutei Sichos vol. 10, p. 232, and completed from the secretariat's copy.]

Notes

1. Coming upon us for good (הבע"ל): הבא עלינו לטובה.

2. "Merit is brought about on a meritorious day" (מגלגלין זכות ליום זכאי): The words of the beraisa, Taanis 29a: "Merit is brought about on a meritorious day, and guilt on a guilty day." That is: a day already established for merit and redemption is fit for further matters of merit to come about on it — so the farbrengen on this day will bring added blessing to the branch's work.

3. The day of redemption, Yud-Tes Kislev (יום הגאולה, י"ט כסלו): The day the Alter Rebbe went free from his imprisonment in Petersburg, in 5559. See Hayom Yom, 19 Kislev: "The festival on which He redeemed our soul in peace... This day is the Rosh Hashanah of the words of the living G‑d."

4. A hundred and sixty years (מאה וששים שנה): From the redemption in 5559 to the year of this letter, 5719.

5. A study that unites all the parts of the soul, the revealed and the inner (לימוד המאחד כל חלקי הנפש הנגלה והפנימית): Just as the Torah has a revealed and an inner part, so the soul has revealed powers (intellect and emotions) and an inner dimension; the study of Chassidus, the inner Torah, reaches the inner dimension of the soul and unites it with its revealed powers, so that one's service is neither intellect alone nor feeling alone.

6. The love of G‑d, the love of the Torah and the love of every Jew, which are one (אהבת השם, אהבת התורה ואהבת כל אחד מישראל, אשר חד הן): After what is known from the Zohar (III, 73a), that the Holy One, blessed be He, the Torah and Israel are bound together — in the usual words of Chassidus, "Israel, the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are all one"; hence the three loves too are one. See Hayom Yom, 26 Adar I: "with three holy vessels — love of G‑d, love of the Torah, love of Israel."

7. The teachings of the Alter Rebbe (בתורת רבנו הזקן): See Tanya, chapter 32, that love of one's fellow Jew stems from all Jews being, "in the root of their souls, in the One G‑d", so that "all Jews are called actual brothers"; and there: "this is what Hillel the Elder said of fulfilling this mitzvah: this is the whole Torah."

8. The teaching whose righteousness came out to light (התורה אשר יצאה לאור צדקתה): The Alter Rebbe's release on this day revealed before all the righteousness of his path in spreading Chassidus, for which he had been denounced; and so it is "the Rosh Hashanah of the words of the living G‑d".

Summary

The Rebbe blesses the Detroit branch of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch on its first Yud-Tes Kislev farbrengen, and its work in pure Torah education, whose true success is bringing Torah and mitzvos into the daily life of ever-widening circles. Since merit comes about on a meritorious day, may the farbrengen bring fresh energy to the whole year. The festival, 160 years on, calls on every Jew to serve G‑d through the revealed and inner Torah, which unites the soul, founded on the love of G‑d, Torah and every Jew, which are one.