6755 —עשר שנים לרבנות הרב בקהילה: בית הכנסת כמרכז של תורה, תפלה וצדקה

B"H, 9 Adar II, 5719
Brooklyn, N.Y.

To the esteemed President and the esteemed Gabbaim and Members of Cong. Ahavas Zion, Newark, N.J.^[1], may G‑d be with them

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I was pleased to receive the notice of the celebration in honor of the tenth anniversary since your shul took on your esteemed and worthy Rav, the Chassid, the veteran Chassid, a G‑d-fearing man, engaged in communal needs^[2], a man of fine character and of energy, etc., Rabbi Sholom Dov Gordon, may he live long^[3].

The honor you show your Rav gives me the firm hope that you will also go on, and in a greater measure, supporting him in his work for the flourishing of your shul as a center of Torah, prayer and tzedakah, as your circular puts it, and for the strengthening of Torah-Judaism in the whole city; which is, after all, the "great principle" of the Torah: "Love your fellow as yourself"^[4].

And this is also the meaning of "center": the inner essence of the whole surrounding area. For without the surroundings there is no center, and without the center there are no surroundings. It is therefore important that the surroundings be suited to the center, and that the center be based on the three things on which the world stands: Torah, avodah (that is, prayer), and gemilus chassadim, tzedakah^[5]. On these three foundations the whole world rests, both the great world and the small world ("a small world, that is man")^[6], the world of each individual.

I wish you and your esteemed Rav, may he live long, many, many years of close cooperation in strengthening the three foundations mentioned in your congregation and in your city in general. May G‑d bless all of you with blessing and success, "from strength to strength"^[7], materially and spiritually alike.

With respect and with blessings.

Notes

1. Cong. Ahavas Zion, Newark, N.J. (קאנג. אהבת ציון, נוארק, נ.דזש.): קאנג. = Congregation; נ.דזש. = New Jersey. Congregation Ahavas Zion in Newark, whose Rav was R. Sholom DovBer Gordon (see below).

2. The Chassid, the veteran Chassid… engaged in communal needs (הרה"ח וו"ח אי"א נו"מ עוסק בצ"צ): הרה"ח = הרב החסיד, "the Chassid"; וו"ח = ותיק וחסיד, "the veteran Chassid"; אי"א = איש ירא אלקים, "a G‑d-fearing man"; עוסק בצ"צ = עוסק בצרכי ציבור, "engaged in communal needs".

3. Rabbi Sholom Dov Gordon (הרב שלום דוב שי' גארדאן): R. Sholom DovBer Gordon, Rav of Congregation Ahavas Zion in Newark, at the time one of the largest synagogues in the city, and Chabad's emissary to Newark together with his wife Miriam. On accepting his first pulpit he consulted the Previous Rebbe, R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn; his son, R. Yehoshua Gordon, related that his father taught in his synagogue every day for nearly sixty years. This letter was written for the tenth anniversary of his rabbinate in the congregation. He is also mentioned in letter 2828 (24 Tammuz 5714), in which the Rebbe writes that a question about a match reached him through R. Gordon.

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

5. Torah, avodah (that is, prayer), and gemilus chassadim (תורה, עבודה (זו תפילה) און גמילות חסדים): Avos 1:2: על שלשה דברים העולם עומד, על התורה ועל העבודה ועל גמילות חסדים, "On three things the world stands: on Torah, on avodah, and on acts of kindness." "Avodah, that is prayer," following Taanis 2a: איזו היא עבודה שהיא בלב? הוי אומר: זו תפלה, "'To love the L‑rd your G‑d and to serve Him with all your heart': what is the service of the heart? It is prayer."

6. "A small world, that is man" (עולם קטן זה האדם): See Midrash Tanchuma (Pekudei 3): שהמשכן שקול כנגד כל העולם, וכנגד יצירת האדם שהוא עולם קטן, "the Mishkan is equal to the whole world, and to the creation of man, who is a small world."

7. "From strength to strength" (מחיל אל חיל): Tehillim 84:8: ילכו מחיל אל חיל יראה אל אלהים בציון, "They go from strength to strength; [each one] appears before G‑d in Zion."

Summary

For the tenth anniversary of R. Sholom DovBer Gordon's rabbinate at Congregation Ahavas Zion in Newark, the Rebbe writes to its officers and members that the honor they show their Rav gives him firm hope that they will support him even more in making the shul a center of Torah, prayer and tzedakah and in strengthening Judaism in the whole city. A center, he explains, is the inner essence of its surroundings, and it must rest on the three pillars on which the world, and each person's "small world," stands.