1617 —חיזוק הישיבה במכנז, תמיכת הקהילה, והדרכה חינוכית

B"H, 3 Sivan, 5712.

Brooklyn.

Haraha"ch vavac"h iy"a nu"n oseik b-tzt"z etc. Moreinu HaRav Michael Lipsker

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letter from the 3rd of Bamidbar: a) It seems from your letter that you have an unfounded fear that someone wants to abolish or at least weaken the yeshiva in Meknes. There is no basis for this concern. Although for several reasons—including the one you mention in your letter—it is necessary to have a Lubavitch institution in Casablanca (a place visited by tourists and representatives of various institutions from America, Eretz Yisrael, Europe, etc.), still the higher institution—that is, the main yeshiva—should not be in Casablanca due to local conditions. This role will fall to the institution in Meknes. May it be G‑d's will that it strengthen in awe of Heaven (for which there is no limit), and accordingly, as awe of Heaven increases, fear of flesh and blood is nullified.

b) Regarding what you wrote about places where the custom and effort to exempt them from attending beis ha-sefer on Shabbos has ceased: it is unfortunate that you did not provide more details about this. Certainly I will receive information about this—as you write in your letter—from Reb Shlomo Matusof.

c) In your question whether during vacation time when Beis Rivka is established they should also arrange secular studies there: In my opinion, since there is a special claim that this is vacation time and a new institution—and therefore expenses should not be increased—they should begin with only Torah studies. Over time (and during the summer months), they will be able to clarify properly whether secular studies are truly necessary or not. But in any case do not start with them now because with such matters it will be difficult to cancel later even if desired...

f) I am interested to know more details regarding the mikvaos of the Sephardim—whether they have adopted any special leniencies not accepted among us (regarding construction and design of the mikvah)...

g) Regarding your question whether to give the sum of fourteen thousand to repair the mikvah in the village: In general it is not advisable to get into the habit where we take upon ourselves all expenses for any matter in a city or village; rather, for every matter we should also involve local residents financially—though each place according to its circumstances—by setting a percentage that we take upon ourselves and a portion that local residents must provide...

i) I hope that these days emissaries of the Avrech Haraha"g vavac"h iy"a Moreinu HaRav Shalom Chaskind have arrived in your country. As I wrote previously, make use of his stay in Morocco as actively as possible—to uplift the spirits of students at Oholei Yosef Yitzchak and strengthen their connection to Torah study of Chassidus, ways of Chassidus, and customs of Chassidus.

j) Certainly also in future you will write detailed reports about all matters; our Sages said one should not shorten where one was told to elaborate.

With blessings for receiving the Torah with joy and inwardness and for success in your holy work.

Summary

The Rebbe encourages strong leadership for Jewish education in Meknes while stressing communal responsibility for funding projects. He advises prioritizing Torah study over secular subjects initially at Beis Rivka and requests ongoing detailed communication about all community matters.