6673 —הנהגות יום ההולדת בשנה שלפני בר המצוה

B"H, 5 Shevat, 5719
Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter about your birthday^[1].

Surely you then set aside tzedakah (or, if you did not do so on the birthday, you should do so close to the day you receive this letter of mine) before the morning and the afternoon prayers, from your own money; and likewise studied an additional lesson, beyond the yeshivah's study schedule, in the area your heart desires^[2]; and likewise you should ask that they study with you on that day, as above, in the holy book of Tanya^[3]; and take on good resolutions regarding your conduct throughout the coming year, which is the year of your being a mufla samuch le'ish^[4], and whose conclusion and seal is your reaching the yoke of Torah and the yoke of mitzvos^[5]. May it be G‑d's will that you succeed in all the above and share good news about it.

With blessing,

In the name of the Rebbe shlita^[6]

Notes

1. About your birthday (אודות יום ההולדת שלו): The recipient, a boy studying in yeshivah, informed the Rebbe of his birthday. The birthday practices are "the custom of Anash in recent times", as the Rebbe put it in another letter (vol. 14, letter 5145): "giving tzedakah on the birthday before the Shacharis and Minchah prayers, or on the day before when the birthday falls on Shabbos or Yom Tov; studying an additional lesson both in the revealed Torah and in Chassidus; an aliyah to the Torah on the birthday or on the Shabbos before it; and studying the three fixed daily lessons – in Chumash, Tehillim and Tanya – on the birthday".

2. In the area your heart desires (במקום שלבו חפץ): Based on Avodah Zarah 19a: אמר רבא: לעולם ילמוד אדם תורה במקום שלבו חפץ, שנאמר: כי אם בתורת ה' חפצו, "Rava said: a person should always study Torah in the area his heart desires, as it says, 'but his desire is in the Torah of G‑d'"; Rashi there (on Rebbi's statement "a person learns Torah only from the place his heart desires"): "his teacher should teach him only the tractate he asks for". The additional lesson is to be in a subject of his own choosing, not necessarily within the yeshivah's curriculum.

3. As above, in the holy book of Tanya (כנ"ל בספר תניא קדישא): כנ"ל = as mentioned above, i.e. an additional lesson. He should ask that they study with him on his birthday an additional lesson in Tanya.

4. Mufla samuch le'ish (מופלא לאיש): From the term of the Sages, "mufla samuch le'ish", said in the laws of a minor's vows. Rashi, Niddah 46a: כי יפליא – מיניה מרבינן מופלא סמוך לאיש. מופלא – יודע לפרש לשם מי נדר. סמוך לאיש – שהוא סמוך לבא לכלל גדול, דהיינו שנה אחת קודם זמן שהוא ראוי להביא שערות, והיינו בתינוקת כל י"ב, ובתינוק כל י"ג, "'When he expresses [a vow]' – from this we include the mufla samuch le'ish. Mufla: he knows to state for Whom he vowed. Samuch le'ish: close to becoming an adult, that is, one year before the time he is fit to show the signs of maturity – for a girl, all of her twelfth year, and for a boy, all of his thirteenth." The boy has now turned twelve, and at the end of this year he will reach bar mitzvah.

5. The yoke of Torah and the yoke of mitzvos (לעול תורה ולעול מצות): Based on Avos 5:21: בן שלש עשרה למצות, "at thirteen, for mitzvos".

6. The Rebbe shlita (כ"ק אדמו"ר שליט"א): כ"ק אדמו"ר שליט"א = "our holy master, teacher and Rebbe, may he live long and good days, amen". The letter was written by the secretariat in the Rebbe's name.

Summary

To a yeshivah boy who has just turned twelve, the Rebbe lists the birthday practices: tzedakah before Shacharis and Minchah from his own money, an extra lesson in a subject of his choosing, an extra lesson in Tanya, and good resolutions for this year as a mufla samuch le'ish, whose seal is his bar mitzvah.