1027 —מסר חסידי חם של השראה וברכה להצלחה

B"H, 25 Iyar, 5711. Brooklyn.

Haravach iy"a nu"n etc. Yehuda Leib Ungar

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I was pleased to hear a greeting from you through Haraha"ch vavach iy"a nu"n, one who is involved in communal needs with faith, etc., Reb Eliyahu Simpson, and he also told me about the farbrengen together in a warm chassidic atmosphere. My father-in-law, the Rebbe, said that a chassidic farbrengen warms the head and heart down to the tips of one's feet. When one returns home from such a farbrengen, they bring light and warmth into their home so that it becomes brighter and warmer than before.

You surely know what my father-in-law, the Rebbe Rayatz, often related in the name of the holy Baal Shem Tov: everything a Jew hears or sees can teach him a lesson in his personal service to Hashem—especially from something connected to one's livelihood, which occupies much time throughout the year and day.

Your business that you are about to begin with G‑d's help and success involves a new patent: taking used sacks which have become infested with bacteria through use. Not only do these bacteria serve no benefit—they can even harm what is placed inside them. Solutions are sought to remove these bacteria; one method is to place the sacks in an enclosed space and increase the warmth beyond normal levels so that the bacteria cannot survive. Thus, the sacks are freed from bacteria and can be reused.

So too in our lives: when the yetzer tov comes to a person at age thirteen, he is already "used," having been influenced by the yetzer hara who arrives earlier. The yetzer hara claims precedence over the person's body and thoughts, speech, and actions as he is "the firstborn." The solution is not to let foreign or improper thoughts easily enter one's mind, speech, or actions. The advice is to separate oneself for some time from outside influences—enclose oneself within the four cubits of a shul, yeshivah, or beis midrash—and there become more "warmed" than usual with love of Hashem, love of Torah, and love of Israel. Then one's own "sack" becomes freed from yetzer hara "bacteria," and what is then placed inside is healthy and beneficial.

Just as with actual sacks it is not enough to disinfect them once for perfect purity—so too with man's "sack": when one rises from sleep each day one must again absorb Jewish chassidic warmth. Then one can be confident of being an oved Hashem—a student of Torah who fulfills mitzvos.

I wish you success in your endeavor. May Hashem help that it be fulfilled in you as my revered father-in-law related in the name of Admor HaZaken (the Alter Rebbe), author of Tanya: Hashem gives Jews material sustenance generously so that Jews transform materiality into spirituality by using it for kosher support of themselves and their families—for strengthening Judaism and spreading Torah.

I hope to hear good news from you.

With blessings for a joyous festival and receiving the Torah with joy and inwardness.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that just as physical items need purification before reuse, so too must we continually refine ourselves spiritually through warmth gained from Torah study, prayer, and chassidic gatherings—transforming our daily lives into vessels for holiness and blessing.