6757 —אין פשרות ביהדות ובחינוך, והוראה מפורים: לימוד הלכות קמיצה שביטל את הגזרה

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

To Mr. Yisrael Sadan, may he live long

Shalom u'Vrachah!

It was a pleasure to receive your letter of 29 Adar I and to learn that you have already arrived safely in the Holy Land, may it be built and established^[1]. Many thanks^[2] for letting me know that you passed on the main points of our conversation to your colleagues; and surely you mean also the principal point, that in Judaism there can be no compromise. This applies especially in the field of education and of raising up many students, for one must take into account the influence of the environment, even after they leave and go out of the four cubits of the house of study.

Therefore the boy student and the girl student must receive their education in so full a measure that they will be able to stand up against all the winds in the world^[3], including unusual winds that blow in the street.

May it be G‑d's will that these words have their effect; and just as you write about passing them on, so may you merit to report good news about matters in practice, for deed is the main thing^[4].

In these days before Purim, this too is one of the lessons of Purim. Our Sages relate that twenty-two thousand children^[5] were educated by the foremost of the Sanhedrin, Mordechai the Jew. He taught them a subject in Torah that seemingly had no bearing at all on practical matters, namely, the laws of the handful of the Omer offering^[6], since they were in exile and the service in the Beis HaMikdash had ceased; and all the more so, it seemed, there was no room in this study for any influence on Achashverosh or for annulling Haman's decree. Yet it was precisely this study that annulled the decree, and for all the Jews in all the king's one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.

I wish you and your colleagues a Purim festival of "light and gladness, joy and honor"^[7].

With respect and with blessings for good news^[8], also concerning your health.

Notes

1. Arrived safely in the Holy Land (עלה לשלום לאה"ק ת"ו): 29 Adar I 5719 fell on Monday, 9 March 1959. לאה"ק ת"ו = לארץ הקודש תבנה ותכונן. The recipient, who had met and spoken with the Rebbe ("our conversation," below), had returned to the Holy Land.

2. Many thanks (ת"ח): ת"ח = תשואות חן.

3. Stand up against all the winds in the world (לעמוד בפני כל הרוחות שבעולם): Following Avos 3:17: כל שמעשיו מרבין מחכמתו, למה הוא דומה, לאילן שענפיו מעטין ושרשיו מרבין, שאפלו כל הרוחות שבעולם באות ונושבות בו אין מזיזין אותו ממקומו, "Whoever's deeds exceed his wisdom, to what is he compared? To a tree whose branches are few and whose roots are many: even if all the winds in the world come and blow on it, they do not move it from its place." Education must be given in such measure that the student stands firm against every influence from outside.

4. Deed is the main thing (המעשה עיקר): Following Avos 1:17: ולא המדרש הוא העקר, אלא המעשה, "Not study is the main thing, but deed."

5. Twenty-two thousand children (כ"ב אלף תינוקות): כ"ב = 22. Esther Rabbah (9:4): הלך אצל מרדכי ומצאו שהיה יושב בבית המדרש והתינוקות יושבים לפניו ושקים במתניהם ועוסקים בתורה... ומנה אותם ומצא שם... שנים ועשרים אלף תינוקות, "He went to Mordechai and found him sitting in the house of study, with the children sitting before him, sackcloth on their loins, studying Torah… and he counted them and found there… twenty-two thousand children"; through their weeping and fasting, "the Holy One, blessed be He, took those letters of the decree against them, which were sealed with a seal of clay, and tore them up."

6. The laws of the handful of the Omer offering (הלכות קמיצת העומר): Megillah 16a: אזל אשכחיה דיתבי רבנן קמיה, ומחוי להו הלכות קמיצה לרבנן, "He went and found the Sages sitting before him, and he was showing them the laws of the handful," and Rashi: "he was expounding the subject of the day: it was the sixteenth of Nissan, the day of waving the Omer." When Haman heard what they were studying, he said: אתא מלי קומצי קמחא דידכו ודחי עשרה אלפי ככרי כספא דידי, "your handful of flour has come and pushed aside my ten thousand talents of silver."

7. "Light and gladness, joy and honor" (באורה ושמחה וששון ויקר): Following Esther 8:16: "The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor"; and the Sages expound (Megillah 16b): אורה – זו תורה... שמחה – זה יום טוב... ששון – זו מילה, "'Light': this is Torah… 'gladness': this is a festival… 'joy': this is circumcision," and so on.

8. Good news (לבשו"ט): לבשו"ט = לבשורות טובות.

Summary

The recipient, back in the Holy Land after a conversation with the Rebbe, reported that he had passed its main points on to his colleagues. The Rebbe stresses the central point, that there can be no compromise in Judaism, especially in education: students must receive so full an education that they can withstand every wind blowing in the street. He draws the lesson from Purim: Mordechai's teaching of twenty-two thousand children the laws of the Omer, seemingly unrelated to their plight, is what annulled Haman's decree.