6815 —מעות חטים, והתלמידות כ"בן חכם": דוגמא חיה לשאר הילדים

B"H, Erev Pesach, 5719^[1]
Brooklyn, N.Y.^[2]

The students of Beis Rivkah, class …^[3]

may G‑d be upon them, may they live

Brachah v'Shalom!

I was pleased to receive your letter with the contribution to Maos Chittim^[4], to help the poor with their Pesach needs. And surely the merit of this mitzvah will help all of you to rise ever higher in your studies and in good conduct.

Certainly each one of you belongs to the category of the "wise son"^[5]. Since there are, after all, three lesser categories, I hope that you will all serve as a living example for Jewish children in general, and especially for those you meet, so that they too will observe "the testimonies, the statutes and the ordinances which G‑d has commanded"^[6].

With blessings for health and success in all the above, and for a kosher and happy Pesach,

In the name of the Rebbe shlita

E. Quint^[7]

Secretary

Notes

1. Erev Pesach, 5719 (ערב חג הפסח תשי"ט): 14 Nissan 5719, Wednesday, 22 April 1959.

2. N.Y. (נ.י.): נ.י. = ניו יורק, New York.

3. Class … (כתה...): So in the print, without the class.

4. Maos Chittim (מעות חטים): Literally "money for wheat": funds collected before Pesach to provide the poor with their holiday needs. The Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 429:5: "מנהג פשוט בכל ישראל, שכל קהל וקהל משימים מס על בני עירן לצורך חטים לפסח, לקנותם ולחלקם לעניי עירן" – "It is a widespread custom throughout Israel that every community imposes a levy on the residents of its town for wheat for Pesach, to buy it and distribute it to the poor of the town."

5. The "wise son" ("בן חכם"): As in the Haggadah (the Rambam's text of the Haggadah, §6): "כנגד ארבעה בנים דברה תורה – אחד חכם, ואחד רשע, ואחד תם, ואחד שאינו יודע לשאל" – "The Torah speaks of four sons: one wise, one wicked, one simple, and one who does not know how to ask." The other three are the "three lesser categories" of the letter.

6. "The testimonies, the statutes and the ordinances which G‑d has commanded" ("די עדות און די חוקים און די משפטים וואס דער אויבערשטער האט אנגעזאגט"): The wise son's question in the Haggadah, from the verse Devarim 6:20: "כי ישאלך בנך מחר לאמר מה העדת והחקים והמשפטים אשר צוה ה' אלהינו אתכם" – "When your son asks you in time to come, saying: What are the testimonies, the statutes and the ordinances which the L‑rd our G‑d has commanded you?" The girls, each of whom is a "wise son", are to influence other children by their living example, so that they too will observe the testimonies, statutes and ordinances.

7. E. Quint (א. קווינט): Rabbi Eliyahu HaKohen Quint, appointed in 5700 (1940) secretary to the Previous Rebbe, who continued as secretary to the Rebbe and signed many letters in his name.

Summary

The Rebbe thanks a class of Beis Rivkah girls for their contribution to Maos Chittim for the Pesach needs of the poor, and blesses them that the merit of the mitzvah help them rise ever higher in their studies and conduct. Each of them is a "wise son"; and since there are three lesser sons, he asks them to be a living example to other children, so that they too keep the testimonies, statutes and ordinances G‑d commanded.