6680 —מעשה בפועל מחזק את קיום הענין במלואו – ולכן הברכה גם בכתב

B"H, 12 Shevat, 5719
Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

On the basis of what is explained in several places in our holy Torah^[1] – that when any matter is also bound up with a concrete deed, this strengthens all the more the certainty that the matter will come about in the fullest measure –

which also explains the supreme importance of the mitzvos performed in deed specifically, as was also spoken of in the maamar^[2] of the day of the hillula of my father-in-law, the Rebbe^[3], the leader of the Jewish people, Yud Shevat; and this also explains what we find with many prophets, that G‑d, blessed be He, commanded them also to do a concrete deed that would allude ("hint") to the matter of the prophecy^[4], because this further ensures that the prophecy will come about in full. And this is also the content of the Mishnah (Avos 3:15), "and everything is according to the abundance of deeds" (see there the Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah)^[5],

therefore, on the basis set out above, I wish, as an addition to what we spoke about^[6], to put this also in writing, that:

May G‑d, blessed be He, grant you and each member of your household, may they live long, His blessing and success in the fullest measure, in whatever you need, both in spiritual matters and in material matters; and in the most precious matter, to have true nachas, which is Jewish, Chassidic nachas, from each of your children and grandchildren, and to receive it in good health, "with joy and with gladness of heart"^[7].

And may the merit of what you will do, in a far greater measure still, from here on as well, in matters of tzedakah and gemilus chassadim^[8] especially, and in matters of Torah and mitzvos in general, both within your own four cubits and in your whole surroundings, be the good and broad channel to receive the blessings of G‑d, blessed be He, in visible and revealed good.

With blessing.

Notes

1. In several places in our holy Torah (בתורתנו הק'): הק' = הקדושה, "holy". See, for example, the Ramban (Bereishis 12:6): ודע כי כל גזירת עירין כאשר תצא מכח גזירה אל פועל דמיון, תהיה הגזירה מתקיימת על כל פנים, "Know that whenever a decree of the Watchers goes out from the power of a decree into an act that represents it, the decree will be fulfilled in any event." That is: a decree from Above, once it is brought into action through a physical deed that alludes to it, is certain to be fulfilled. This is the foundation on which the whole letter is built.

2. The maamar (מאמר): The maamar Basi LeGani that the Rebbe delivered on the day of the hillula, Yud Shevat 5719, two days before this letter. There (section 5) it is explained that "the drawing down from the Essence comes only through the service that is lowest of all, namely the fulfillment of the mitzvos in physicality" (ההמשכה מהעצמות הוא רק ע"י העבודה שלמטה מטה ביותר, והוא קיום המצוות בגשמיות), and that "in the mitzvos specifically the very highest of all is drawn down, namely the Essence" (בהמצוות בהם דוקא נמשך הגבוה גבוה ביותר שהוא העצמות).

3. My father-in-law, the Rebbe (כ"ק מו"ח אדמו"ר): כ"ק מו"ח אדמו"ר = כבוד קדושת מורי וחמי אדונינו מורנו ורבנו, my father-in-law, the Previous Rebbe, R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. The day of the hillula is the day of his passing, Yud Shevat 5710; this year it was the ninth.

4. The matter of the prophecy (ענין הנבואה): So writes the Ramban there, continuing the words quoted in note 1: ולכן יעשו הנביאים מעשה בנבואות, "therefore the prophets perform an act with their prophecies", and he gives two examples. (a) Yirmeyahu, who commanded (Yirmeyahu 51:63-64): "And it shall be, when you have finished reading this book, that you shall tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates; and you shall say: Thus shall Babylon sink and not rise." (b) Elisha, who placed his hands on the hands of Yoash king of Israel on the bow and told him, "Shoot… an arrow of salvation for G‑d" (Melachim II 13:16-19); and when the king struck the ground with the arrows only three times, "the man of G‑d was angry with him and said: You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Aram until you had consumed it; but now you will strike Aram only three times." That is: as is the measure of the deed, so is the measure of the prophecy's fulfillment.

5. The Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah (פירוש המשניות להרמב"ם): The Rambam there: ואחר כך אמר שהמעלות לא יגיעו לאדם לפי רוב גודל המעשה אבל לפי רוב מספר המעשים... והמשל בו כשיתן האדם למי שראוי אלף זהובים בבת אחת לאיש א' ולאיש אחר לא נתן כלום לא יעלה בידו מדת הנדיבות בזה המעשה האחד הגדול כמו שמגיע למי שהתנדב אלף זהובים באלף פעמים, "Then he said that virtues do not come to a person according to the greatness of the deed, but according to the number of deeds… The example: if a person gives a thousand gold coins at once to one deserving person and gives nothing to another, he does not acquire the trait of generosity through this one great deed as does one who gave a thousand gold coins on a thousand occasions." That is: the deed itself, and its repetition, is what establishes the matter in a person as a "firm acquisition" (in the Rambam's words there). The Rambam's example is the giving of tzedakah, and the Rebbe likewise ends this letter with tzedakah and gemilus chassadim.

6. As an addition to what we spoke about (אלס צוגאב צו דעם וואס מיר האבען גערעט): Besides what was said in person, the Rebbe also writes the blessing down: the writing is itself a kind of "concrete deed", an act that strengthens the full fulfillment of the blessing, according to the principle at the beginning of the letter.

7. With joy and with gladness of heart (ובשמחה ובטוב לבב): In the words of the verse, Devarim 28:47: תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה' אלקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב מרב כל, "because you did not serve G‑d your G‑d with joy and with gladness of heart, out of the abundance of everything".

8. Gemilus chassadim (גמ"ח): גמ"ח = גמילות חסדים, acts of kindness; likewise below, השי"ת = השם יתברך, "G‑d, blessed be He". That is: his actual deeds, in tzedakah and in Torah and mitzvos, are the "channel" through which he will receive the blessing, according to the principle at the beginning of the letter, that a deed strengthens the fulfillment of the matter.

Summary

Having spoken with the recipient in person, the Rebbe puts his blessing also in writing, explaining that a matter bound up with a concrete deed is more certain to be fulfilled in full: hence the importance of mitzvos performed in deed, the acts the prophets were told to perform, and "everything is according to the abundance of deeds". He blesses him with success and true Chassidic nachas from his children and grandchildren, and urges him to increase in tzedakah and kindness as the channel for G‑d's blessings.