6615 —לימוד חסידות לבריאות ולקח חנוכה

B"H, 28th of Kislev, 5719
Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter of Sunday of Vayishlach^[1], just now^[2] received, in which you write about the state of your health and the results of the treatment.

At an auspicious time you, and likewise the members of your household^[3], may they live, will be mentioned at the holy resting place of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, of saintly and blessed memory, whose soul is in the hidden treasuries on High, may his merit protect us^[4], each one^[5] for what he needs, in keeping with the content of your letter.

Some time ago I drew the attention of your father-in-law shlita, when he wrote to me about the state of your health, that it is proper and very, very good that you fix a study in the light that is in the Torah^[6] — that is, the inner dimension of the Torah, which in our generation has been revealed in the teachings of Chassidus — on the holy Shabbos day^[7], which is "holy to G‑d"^[8], and also several times a week, and how good every day. It is explained in several places^[9] how necessary this study is, especially in our era^[10]. And in addition to this main point, as regards your honor^[11] in particular: study in the light that is in the Torah adds (in the measure of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is measure for measure and many times as much^[12]) in "the light of a person's eyes"^[13].

May it be G‑d's will that you not only fix times for the above, but also add to them, as in the directive "one rises in holiness"^[14]; and this is the mitzvah and theme of Chanukah, whose miracle was with oil^[15] — the secret of secrets of the Torah* — steadily increasing "until it became very great"^[16].

With blessing for health and for good tidings^[17] in all the above.

*) See Devarim [Rabbah] 7:3^[18]: "The Torah is compared to five things, etc. — to honey and milk, as it says, 'honey and milk are under your tongue' [the secrets of the Torah — Chagigah 13a, and according to the version of the Rambam, Laws of the Foundations of the Torah, end of chapter 2^[19]] etc. — oil, etc.: just as oil rises above all liquids, etc."

[Publisher's note: "Measure for measure" (מכ"מ): מדה כנגד מדה.]

Notes

1. Sunday of Vayishlach (א' וישלח): The first day of the week of Parshas Vayishlach.

2. Just now (ז"ע): זה עתה.

3. The members of your household (ב"ב): בני ביתו.

4. The holy resting place of my father-in-law, the Rebbe... (הציון הק' של כ"ק מו"ח אדמו"ר זצוקללה"ה נבג"מ זי"ע): הק' = הקדוש; כ"ק מו"ח אדמו"ר = כבוד קדושת מורי וחמי אדוננו מורנו ורבנו; זצוקללה"ה = זכר צדיק וקדוש לברכה לחיי העולם הבא; נבג"מ = נשמתו בגנזי מרומים; זי"ע = זכותו יגן עלינו.

5. Each one (כאו"א): כל אחד ואחד.

6. The light that is in the Torah (המאור שבתורה): After the words of Chazal (Eichah Rabbah, Pesichta 2, and Yerushalmi Chagigah 1:7): "Would that they had forsaken Me and kept My Torah, for the light within it would have brought them back to the good." It has been explained in several places in the teachings of our Rebbeim that "the light within the Torah" is the inner dimension of the Torah.

7. The holy Shabbos day (הש"ק): השבת קודש.

8. "Holy to G‑d" (קדש הוא לה'): After the pasuk (Shemos 31:15; 35:2): "a Shabbos of complete rest, holy to G‑d." On fixing study on Shabbos, see the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 290:5: "Shabbos and festivals were given to Israel only to occupy themselves on them with Torah."

9. In several places (בכ"מ): בכמה מקומות.

10. Especially in our era (ובפרט בתקופתנו זו): See Tanya, Iggeres HaKodesh, section 26: "As the Arizal wrote: specifically in these last generations it is permitted and a mitzvah to reveal this wisdom, and not in the earlier generations."

11. Your honor (כת"ר): כבוד תורתו.

12. Measure for measure and many times as much (מכ"מ וכ"פ ככה): מדה כנגד מדה, וכמה פעמים ככה. See Sanhedrin 90a: "for all the measures of the Holy One, blessed be He, are measure for measure"; and Yoma 76a: "Which measure is greater, the measure of good or the measure of retribution? You must say the measure of good." That is: corresponding to the "light" of the Torah, there is added to him the "light" of his eyes, in the measure of good that is many times greater.

13. "The light of a person's eyes" (מאור עיניו של אדם): The expression appears in Berachos 43b: "A long stride takes away one five-hundredth of the light of a person's eyes. What is its remedy? To restore it with the Kiddush of Shabbos eve." Note that there too the remedy for the light of the eyes is a matter of the holiness of Shabbos.

14. "One rises in holiness" (מעלין בקדש): Shabbos 21b, on the reason of Beis Hillel for adding a light each night of Chanukah: "for one rises in holiness and does not descend."

15. Whose miracle was with oil (שהנס הי' בשמן): See Shabbos 21b: "and they found only one cruse of oil lying with the seal of the Kohen Gadol... a miracle was done with it, and they lit from it eight days." And the oil is "the secret of secrets of the Torah", as explained in the asterisked note at the end of the letter.

16. "Until it became very great" (עד כי גדל מאד): After the words of the pasuk about Yitzchak, Bereishis 26:13: "The man became great, and kept growing greater until he became very great."

17. Good tidings (לבשו"ט): בשורות טובות.

18. Devarim 7:3 (דברים פ"ז, ג): That is, Midrash Devarim Rabbah, parshah 7, section 3. The comparison to oil: just as oil rises above all liquids (floating above them), so the inner dimension of the Torah, "the secret of secrets", is above all parts of the Torah.

19. Chagigah 13a, and the version of the Rambam (חגיגה יג, א. וכגירסת הרמב"ם): In Chagigah 13a they expound regarding the Account of the Chariot: "'Honey and milk are under your tongue' — words sweeter than honey and milk should be under your tongue" (the pasuk is Shir HaShirim 4:11). The Rambam, at the end of chapter 2 of the Laws of the Foundations of the Torah, cites this exposition regarding the secrets of the Torah, which are not revealed in public. This shows that the "honey and milk" in the Midrash refer to the secrets of the Torah.

Summary

Replying to a man about his health and treatment, the Rebbe repeats what he once told his father-in-law: he should fix study in "the light within the Torah", Chassidus, on Shabbos, several times a week, and best of all every day. Beyond its general necessity in our time, study of the Torah's light adds, measure for measure and many times over, to "the light of a person's eyes". He should keep adding, as on Chanukah, whose miracle was with oil — the secret of secrets of the Torah, which rises above all.