1342 —מכתב לשד"ר על לימוד חסידות, פעולות התלמידים, והפצת המעיינות

B"H, 12 Teves, 5712.

Brooklyn.

Haraha"ch vavac"h iy"a nu"m etc. Shalom DovBer Kesselman

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I hereby acknowledge receipt of your letters from the good days of Elul, the 8th, the 22nd of Menachem Av, and the 4th of Kislev. Surely the kuntreisim (the entire series) were received in their proper time as well as Kuntres 20 Menachem Av and my letters attached to them.

In response to your letters: a) I too wish to write more frequently, but what can I do? They have almost made me not master of my own time due to many preoccupations etc., etc., and my delay in answering your letters and questions is for this reason alone in most cases; it should not be attributed to other matters.

b) Please again publicize among the administration and students the general remark from my letter of 24 Menachem Av 5711: "I do not know – it cannot be estimated," because what is stated there is now even more relevant in my opinion than it was then. Publicizing this will serve as an answer to several questions.

c) Many thanks for your report about the students' activities in saving Jewish children's lives and spreading the wellsprings of Chassidus. Regarding the student ... may he live and his status: it is upon the administration—especially the spiritual one—to ensure that those students who are already involved in collecting funds and registration (and similar activities), who would otherwise be involved in such things anyway—not necessarily those with a particular aptitude for diligence in prayer—should gradually be relieved from these tasks in a diplomatic manner. It is surprising that instructions are needed about this when it is self-evident. By the way, I wrote to him about changing his conduct regarding fasting and self-affliction at summer's end; so far I do not know if he received my letter or listened to my advice.

d) Regarding the student ... and his review of Chassidus by heart: since he is only fourteen years old and his father objects, let him for now review only during vacation days and festivals.

e) What does Hashem require from this generation of Tomchei Temimim? Who among us stands in Hashem's council to clearly know this so as to answer his question? But what appears clear at least on a practical level is that everything necessary has been prepared for us—they have already fought our battles—and all we need to do is bring forth the wellsprings; everything has already been prepared for us, laid out on platters with utensils for eating, and almost all opposition to spreading the wellsprings has been removed...

Regarding times for studying Chassidus—the type and manner of study—in my opinion it should be as much as possible like it was formerly in Tomchei Temimim. In addition there should be study by rote as I wrote about on Zayin Chanukah 5711; this is in my opinion a very important principle.

Summary

The Rebbe encourages ongoing communication despite busyness, stresses clarity in guidance given to students and administration, expresses gratitude for outreach efforts, advises sensitivity with young students' spiritual practices based on age and parental input, and underscores prioritizing Chassidus study modeled after earlier traditions.