6690 —מנהגי יום ההילולא י' שבט נוהגים גם בשנים שלאחר השנה הראשונה, בהוספה

B"H, 18 Shevat, 5719
Brooklyn.

My relative, the veteran Chassid, a G‑d-fearing man, distinguished and honored, engaged in communal needs^[1], Reb Yehuda Leib, may he live long^[2]

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter of Motzaei Shabbos Kodesh, in which you write the main points^[3] of the farbrengens of the past weeks, and also of the founding of a public shiur in the study of Chassidus.

May it be G‑d's will that always, all the days^[4], you share good news in the general (communal) matters and in the personal matters, which depend on one another^[5]; especially as the stock of the rock from which you were hewn assists you^[6] in activity in this and in good news about it.

As to what you write about my suggestion concerning the customs of the day of the hillula^[7]: although it was written in connection with the first day of the hillula, I see no reasons for changes in these practices in the years after it, apart from the general change in keeping with the instruction of our holy Torah^[8] that one ascends in holiness^[9]. From this it is understood that from time to time one must add in this too; but in this addition no fixed rules can be laid down, and each and every one^[10] should add according to his standing, his situation, his ability and his possibilities.

With blessing for good news^[11].

Publisher's notes

Reb Yehuda Leib (מו"ה יהודא ליב): Slonim, Jerusalem. Further letters to him: above, vol. 15, letter 5522, and the references in the notes there.

Notes

1. My relative, the veteran Chassid, a G‑d-fearing man, distinguished and honored, engaged in communal needs (ש"ב הוו"ח אי"א נו"נ עוסק בצ"צ): ש"ב = שאר בשרי, "my relative"; הוו"ח = הוותיק וחסיד; אי"א = איש ירא אלקים; נו"נ = נעלה ונכבד; עוסק בצ"צ = עוסק בצרכי ציבור.

2. Reb Yehuda Leib (מו"ה יהודא ליב): Slonim, Jerusalem. R. Yehuda Leib Slonim of Jerusalem, whom the Rebbe calls "my relative", used to report to the Rebbe on the farbrengens held by the Chassidim in Jerusalem on the Chassidic days, and the Rebbe answered and urged him on: on the Yud-Tes Kislev 5715 farbrengen and his question whether to hold farbrengens in the shul or in a private home (letter 3148); on the visit of R. Yaakov Yosef Raskin to the Chabad shul in Meah Shearim (3937); on the Lag BaOmer 5716 farbrengen and saying Tehillim on Shabbos Mevarchim (4436); on 12–13 Tammuz 5716 (4552) and the visit of the avreichim shluchim to the Holy Land (4698); on the farbrengens of Tishrei 5717 (4827); and on the Shavuos 5717 farbrengen, in reply to which the Rebbe stressed "the very greatest necessity to keep in appropriate contact with those who take part in the farbrengen" (5522). In the present letter he wrote about the farbrengens of the past weeks and the founding of a public Chassidus shiur, and asked whether the Yud Shevat customs the Rebbe had suggested for the first year still apply.

3. The main points (ר"פ): מוצש"ק = מוצאי שבת קודש, "the night after the holy Shabbos"; ר"פ = ראשי פרקים, "the main points".

4. Always, all the days (שתכה"י): שתכה"י = שתמיד כל הימים.

5. Which depend on one another (הא בהא תליא): Aramaic: "this depends on that". Success in his own and his family's personal affairs is bound up with his activity in the communal matters – the farbrengens and the Chassidus shiur – and vice versa.

6. The stock of the rock from which you were hewn assists you (גזע צור מחצבתו מסייעתו): From the verse Yeshayahu 51:1: הביטו אל צור חצבתם ואל מקבת בור נקרתם, "Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug", and Rashi there: ומי הוא הצור הוא אברהם אביכם, "and who is the rock? Avraham your father". That is, the root of his family and his lineage – the merit of his forefathers – helps him in his activity; as the Rebbe wrote to him in letter 3937: "especially as the merit of your forefathers assists you".

7. My suggestion concerning the customs of the day of the hillula (הצעתי במנהגי יום ההילולא): This is the Rebbe's general letter of Rosh Chodesh Shevat 5711 (letter 885), before the first yahrzeit of the Previous Rebbe (10 Shevat 5711): "In reply to the question of many about a detailed order for the tenth of Shevat, the yahrzeit of my father-in-law the Rebbe… I hereby suggest", listing the customs: to be called to the Torah on the Shabbos before the yahrzeit, to lead the prayers, to light a candle that burns the whole day, to study and repeat the maamar Basi LeGani, to give tzedakah, to read a pidyon nefesh, to hold a farbrengen, and more. The recipient asked whether this suggestion, written for the first year, applies in the following years too.

8. Our holy Torah (תוה"ק): תוה"ק = תורתנו הקדושה.

9. One ascends in holiness (מעלין בקדש): From Shabbos 21b, on the Chanukah lights: וב"ה אומרים: יום ראשון מדליק אחת, מכאן ואילך מוסיף והולך... וטעמא דבית הלל דמעלין בקדש ואין מורידין, "Beis Hillel say: on the first day one lights one, from then on he adds progressively… and the reason of Beis Hillel is that one ascends in holiness and does not descend". Just as the Chanukah lights are increased from day to day, so the Yud Shevat customs remain in force, but from year to year one must add to them.

10. Each and every one (או"א): או"א = אחד ואחד. "No fixed rules can be laid down" (literally, "no nails can be fixed"): no fixed rules or measures for everyone; each adds according to his standing, situation and ability.

11. Good news (בשו"ט): בשו"ט = בשורות טובות.

Summary

Answering a relative in Jerusalem who reported on farbrengens and the founding of a public Chassidus shiur, the Rebbe blesses him with success in communal and personal matters alike, aided by the merit of his forebears, and rules that the Yud Shevat customs he suggested for the first yahrzeit remain in force in later years, with each person adding to them as he is able.