6742 —סעודת הודאה על רפואה: אהבת ישראל והודאה לה' על נפלאותיו

B"H, 2 Adar II^[1], 5719
Brooklyn.

To the participants in the thanksgiving meal
on Motzaei Shabbos Mevarchim Adar II^[2],
may G‑d be over them, that they live^[3].

Shalom u'Vrachah!

It was pleasing to me to learn of your gathering at a thanksgiving meal, in which there are two main things: "Love your fellow as yourself", which is a great principle in the Torah^[4]; and thanksgiving to G‑d, "Give thanks to G‑d, for He is good, for His kindness is everlasting", "Let them thank G‑d for His kindness, and for His wonders to the children of man"^[5] – that is to say, the foundation of the world's having been created anew, through which overturning the [natural] order and nature – the working of wonders for people in this world – is possible^[6].

May it be G‑d's will that, according to the ruling and instruction of our Rebbe, the Alter Rebbe, that thanksgiving indicates and proves that one has returned completely to his full health (Seder Birchos HaNehenin, chapter 13, halachah 5^[7], which is founded on the words of our early Sages*),

you will draw down through this thanksgiving meal the complete recovery, until he returns to his full strength^[8] in every sense;

and your reward [will be] according to the measure of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is measure for measure, only many times over, in the way the Holy One, blessed be He, conducts Himself in this: "I will not put upon you (from the outset), for I am G‑d your Healer" – unlike the manner of healing by flesh and blood, as our Sages say on this^[9].

With respect and with blessing that from now on only joyful tidings, in good that is visible and revealed, will be announced by you and to you, among the whole of the Jewish people^[10].

*) See Ateres Zekeinim on the Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, siman 219, from the Mechilta and Rashi. And elsewhere^[11].

Notes

1. Adar II (אד"ש): אד"ש = אדר שני, Adar II (5719 was a leap year).

2. Motzaei Shabbos Mevarchim Adar II (מוצש"ק מברכין אדר שני): מוצש"ק = מוצאי שבת קודש. The meal was held on the night after the Shabbos on which Adar II was blessed, 27 Adar I 5719.

3. May G‑d be over them, that they live (ה' עליהם יחיו): From Yeshayahu 38:16: אדני עליהם יחיו ולכל בהן חיי רוחי ותחלימני והחיני.

4. "Love your fellow as yourself", which is a great principle in the Torah (ואהבת לרעך כמוך, שהוא כלל גדול בתורה): Vayikra 19:18; and Rashi there: אמר רבי עקיבא: זה כלל גדול בתורה, "Rabbi Akiva said: This is a great principle in the Torah."

5. "Give thanks to G‑d…", "Let them thank G‑d…" (הודו לה'… יודו לה'…): Tehillim 107:1 and 107:8. This psalm is the basis of the thanks given by one who has been saved from distress, as Rav says in Berachos 54b: ארבעה צריכין להודות: יורדי הים. הולכי מדברות. ומי שהיה חולה, ונתרפא. ומי שהיה חבוש בבית האסורים, ויצא, "Four must give thanks: those who go down to the sea, those who travel through deserts, one who was ill and recovered, and one who was imprisoned and was released."

6. That is to say, the foundation of the world's having been created anew (ז.א. היסוד דחדוש העולם): ז.א. = זאת אומרת. Thanking G‑d for "His wonders" rests on the belief that the world was created anew: since the Creator brought the world and nature into being, it is in His hand to overturn the order of nature and work wonders for people in this world.

7. Seder Birchos HaNehenin 13:5 (סדר ברכות הנהנין פרק י"ג ה'): Seder Birchos HaNehenin 13:5: אין לברך עד שיצא מהסכנה לגמרי. לפיכך לא יברך החולה עד שיחזור לבוריו לגמרי, "One does not recite the blessing until he is entirely out of danger; therefore a sick person does not recite it until he has returned completely to his full health." Birkas HaGomel, the thanksgiving for recovery, is said only once one has fully recovered; hence thanksgiving itself indicates and proves a complete recovery.

8. Until he returns to his full strength (עד שיחזור לאיתנו): From Shemos 14:27, וישב הים לפנות בקר לאיתנו, "and the sea returned toward morning to its strength"; Rashi there: לאיתנו – לתקפו הראשון, "to its original strength".

9. "I will not put upon you (from the outset), for I am G‑d your Healer" (לא אשים עליך (מלכתחלה) כי אני ה' רופאך): Shemos 15:26: כל המחלה אשר שמתי במצרים לא אשים עליך כי אני ה' רפאך, "All the sickness that I put upon Egypt I will not put upon you, for I am G‑d your Healer." Rashi there: "I will not put upon you – and if I do put it, it is as though it was not put, for I am G‑d your Healer; this is its midrashic interpretation (Mechilta). According to its plain meaning: for I am G‑d your Healer, and I teach you Torah and mitzvos so that you may be saved from them, like the doctor who says to a person, Do not eat things that will bring you back to illness." The Rebbe adds "(from the outset)": G‑d's way is not to put the illness at all.

10. Among the whole of the Jewish people (בתכ"י): בתכ"י = בתוך כלל ישראל.

11. *) Ateres Zekeinim… siman 219 (עט"ז לשו"ע או"ח סרי"ט): The Rebbe's footnote to the words "founded on the words of our early Sages*" above. עט"ז = עטרת זקנים; סרי"ט = סימן רי"ט. Ateres Zekeinim there: ונראה שאין לברך עד שיצא מהצר' לגמרי וכן בחולה עד שיחזור לבוריו לגמרי וכמו שכ' במכילתא ע"פ והתהלך בחוץ וכן פירש"י, "It seems one does not recite the blessing until he is entirely out of the distress, and likewise a sick person until he has returned completely to his full health, as is written in the Mechilta on 'and walks about outside', and so Rashi explains." The Mechilta (Mishpatim, Tractate Nezikin 6): והתהלך בחוץ על משענתו – על בריו, "and walks about outside on his staff – in his full health"; and Rashi on Shemos 21:19: על משענתו – על בוריו וכחו, "on his staff – in his full health and strength".

Summary

The Rebbe greets the participants in a thanksgiving meal for a recovery: it joins Ahavas Yisrael with thanking G‑d for His wonders, which rests on the creation of the world anew. Since, as the Alter Rebbe rules, thanksgiving is said only after a full recovery, may it bring the complete recovery; and G‑d's way is not to bring illness at all.