899 —בריאות, לימוד חסידות, והשפעה

B"H, 23rd of Shevat, 5711.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letters from the 11th and 17th of Teves, and the 4th and 15th of Shevat—even though I have already partially answered and confirmed receipt of your notes and the pan which I read at the resting place of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, at an auspicious time.

I will begin with the main point, which is about bodily health. The Rambam rules in Hilchos Deos chapter 4 that maintaining a healthy and whole body is part of the ways of Hashem. In Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 571:2 it says: a Torah scholar is not permitted to fast because it diminishes his service of Heaven. Teachers and all those involved in tzt"z are considered like Torah scholars. The Maggid (printed in Hatmimim vol. 7 p.28) said: 'If you make a small hole in the body it becomes a big hole in the soul.' The Alter Rebbe rules in Iggeres HaTeshuvah ch.3 that one may afflict himself for sins only if he is certain it will not harm him at all.

After all this, in my opinion you should pay attention to improving your physical health through eating, drinking, and sleeping as appropriate to what was mentioned above. If necessary this includes eating mezonos before prayer and certainly drinking tea with milk or similar things. Be even more careful about this than your previous custom; from now on do as above without being stringent upon yourself in this or similar matters. Hashem will surely help you succeed in making materiality into spirituality.

I was very pleased by your thought to send some students from your camp's beis midrash to study Chassidus there or to review some maamar Chassidus—and it is proper to do so in a way that listeners will understand. Moreover, you should also draw their hearts through an introduction such as a story (taken from talks etc.). Besides benefiting the listeners and the great reward for those who review—since Hashem enlightens their eyes—there is an additional benefit that by doing so students get used to influencing others with Chassidus and also regarding fear of Heaven even upon those who are not yet among Anash; after all, this is their role—to be candles that illuminate. Further elaboration on this is unnecessary...

Regarding what you wrote about a dream where you wanted to fast like a Torah scholar—in my opinion you did well not to fast; strengthen yourself specifically in Torah study. See what the Taz writes as brought in Shu"t tzt"z Shaar HaMiluim section 62 there.

For the reason you wrote about gaining benefit from learning a tractate superficially (at least acquiring some general knowledge), for this very reason I would also institute—if I had the strength—learning 'to review' also in Chassidus (even though with Chassidus it's especially important overall to learn deeply), such as reviewing chassidic series etc.

Regarding your good health—I hope that if you act as described at the beginning of this letter your condition will surely continue improving; please report good news about this as soon as possible.

Awaiting a letter with good news on all these matters—especially regarding your good health—and regards to your entire group.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that caring for one's physical health is essential for serving G‑d properly. He encourages sharing Chassidus thoughtfully with others and stresses that influencing even those less connected is part of our mission—to be "candles that illuminate."