53 —עידוד לחברות משניות ותהלים, השראה לאחרים

B"H, Friday, 14 Adar I, 5715.

Kevod Haraha"g vavac"h iy"a Rav Pe'alim etc. Maharan"m Shub

Shalom u'Vrachah!

We received your letter with the list of members for the Mishnayos Ba'al Peh Society and the Tehillim Society. We thank you for your participation in our work and hope that in the future you will further strengthen your efforts to help us in the work of benefiting the public.

Not long ago there was a raffle for Mishnayos Ba'al Peh, and we are enclosing your membership card. For the other registrants through you for the Mishnayos Ba'al Peh Society, we are sending their cards according to their addresses. Also, for those listed by you for the Tehillim Society, we are sending their names to Jerusalem may it be rebuilt and established.

We have instructed that the talks (shmuessen) be sent to the three people whose addresses you provided us; they are surely receiving them on time. We are enclosing herewith the account for this.

We would be pleased to hear from you about your good activities regarding "Machane Yisrael" and "Merkaz L'Inyanei Chinuch" from when you wrote your letter to us until now.

It is well known regarding this week's Torah portion: "Ve'atah tetzaveh... leha'alot ner tamid" (And you shall command... to kindle a constant lamp), that the Kohen must light the lamps until the flame rises on its own. In terms of our service nowadays—our Sages said (Peskita as brought in Yalkut Shimoni Zechariah 4): The golden Menorah represents all of Israel as it is said: 'You are altogether beautiful, my beloved.' The Kohen refers to one whom Hashem has graced and chosen to serve before Him in holiness (see Rambam at the end of Hilchos Shemittah v'Yovel). He must strive in lighting the lamps—to ignite the 'lamp of G‑d is man's soul' (Proverbs 20:27) of his acquaintances and friends—and continue kindling it until the flame of G‑dliness from Torah and mitzvos rises within them on its own, so they no longer need rebuke or awakening. The measure of kindling is 'until morning'—this refers to Olam Haba (the World to Come), which is all morning (Yerushalmi Chagigah 2:1).

Summary

The Rebbe encourages active involvement in communal Torah initiatives like Mishnayos and Tehillim societies and teaches that true inspiration means helping others reach a point where their own spiritual flame burns independently through Torah and mitzvos.